Shaded Chronicles
by Katsuargi
Summary: Playing on Toriyama's original intentions, Goku's sacrifice on Namek was final and permanent. This fic explores the resulting dragon ball universe.
1. Ghost of You

He laid in a pool of his own blood at the bottom of a shallow grave, body broken and beaten. Every time he had gotten up, every time he had tried, every time he had thought he had won, he had been cast down, words and thoughts proven to be folly. No mater how much effort he put towards it, he had always found himself broken.

And now, finally, he found himself in his own grave, barely alive, heart punctured and lungs filling with the blood that normally kept him living. Had he the ability, he would have cursed. Cursed the Gods for his fate, cursed the white Tyrant that had did this to him for his life, and cursed himself for his weakness.

Finding what little strength he still possessed, he rolled over and pulled his head from the blood. One arm after another, one leg slowly shifting at a time, he struggled and managed to crawl forwards. After what felt like an eternity, he reached the top of his grave and was taken back by what he saw there.

The tyrant who his thoughts had settled on laid dead and partially dismembered, body broken and beaten as though nothing but a weak child. Gaze shot quickly to the side catching sight of a golden glow, and as a result settled on what surely was the tyrants killer.

There, in all his golden glory, stood the bastard Saiya-jin raised on Earth, the worthless third class that had stolen his destiny and became the super saiya-jin, had become what he was supposed to be, rendering his own existence worthless, his entire life without meaning.

Taking notice of him, a grin spread across his features and he walked forwards, reaching a hand down towards him, he what was surely an act meant to finish him off.

And then then a brilliant gold and red filled his vision and fire licked at his skin. Pain shot through him as the world exploded, and all was dark.

* * *

Breath escaped from him as his body shot up in the darkness, sweat trickling down his exposed skin. At his side a blue haired woman shifted, sheet just barely covering her otherwise naked form, hand knocking over the empty bottle of alcohol sitting on the table beside the bed.

A minor string of explicitness slipped his lips as he stood and shakily walked towards the shower attached to the room, mind still settling back into reality as silver moonlight gave him the illumination that he needed to find his way forwards without tripping over furniture and discarded clothing.

A few minutes later found him in a dark shower, cold water raining down on him in a vain attempt to distract him from his thoughts. His death had been hard on all of them, for each their own reasons. For Vegeta, even in death Kakarotto was still haunting him.

* * *

"Your wish cannot be granted..." Their hearts sunk as reality finally had to start sinking in. They had all felt it, had all felt Goku's life force slip into nothing. He had defeated the monster, Frieza, but it had ultimately cost him his own life to do it, but they had remained confident that the Dragonballs would be able to make this tragedy go away.

Guru had died shortly after, his long life finally coming to its natural end. Between his death and the destruction of Namek, the Namakian dragon balls had either been lost or simply obliterated, and they had been forced to learn another rule that restricted the dragonballs.

When created, the dragonballs were woven and created from the fabric of reality itself, and as a result, were attuned to the state of the universe. Simply put, they are attuned to how the world is when they are brought into existence. Anything that has been changed before the dragonballs were created can not be undone. As a result, amongst other things, it would be impossible for a new set of Dragonballs to bring Goku back to life.

There was a way around this, and what they had been planning on. If they were able to get the old Dragonballs, they would be able to simply reactivate them and keep the same attunements that they had possessed. And so they had wished for those dragonballs to either be brought to them or recreated, though Kami had advised them that he wasn't sure if it would work.

"...it is not within my power to create dragonballs." Hearts dropped. The dragonballs had been destroyed, not simply scattered. Dragonballs had a certain amount of magical protection, and they had hopped that it would be enough. With Guru's death, that protection had been lost, and against their hopes, and manor of space peril was responsible for their destruction.

The humans all cried or grew otherwise somber. The brat had screamed. His harpy of a wife had fainted. And through it all, Vegeta had looked on dumbfounded. After everything he had seen of the man, after fighting him, after watching him grow stronger and stronger and even defeat Frieza, it had never even occurred to him that he could be dead for good.

"No..." He whispered. He had spared his life after beating him, let him live. "No." He said a little louder. He had defeated the tyrant he had been destined to crush. Unconsciously his energy level began to rise. "No." Vegeta yelled at no one in particular. He had stolen his destiny, and finally, he had died before Vegeta could catch up and surpass him. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He roared, power exploding around him and shaking the very Earth.

* * *

His passing had an effect on everyone. Chi-chi had become distraught. Much to everyones surprise, however, rather than becoming even more tightly clung to her son, she had released her control from him. The woman had suspected that Gohan reminded her too much of Goku and she was distancing herself from him, but Vegeta had felt the spikes of power. The only real connection Gohan had to his father was fighting and training, and he was seemingly desperately trying to grasp them. The harpy apparently knew better than to deny him that.

The humans had taken it hard, but Vegeta could care less about their lives. No, the only one he had a moderate amount of interest for was the one laying in his bed, and that was simply because if he got laid at the end of the day depended on her. But that was the here and now, it was no concern of his that she was drinking herself towards an early grave.

He shut off the water and stepped out from the shower, grabbing and towel and beginning to dry himself off. As for him, this had been his routine ever since that day. He would wake up in the early mornings, almost always being haunted by some variation of that dream, and crawl out of the bed sometimes waking the woman and sometimes not. He would then take a short shower before going down to the gravity room and training himself. Sometimes it was simply passed exhaustion, at other times it was near death. In reality, the only shifting variable in his having sex was if he was unconscious in a hospital bed. At some point during the day he would eat enough for a city block, and then return to training. At night, he would work off some frustration on the woman, and then pass out to do it over again the next day.

And every day, he asked himself over and over again what the point was. The legend had already been fulfilled, his fate had been stolen from him. Revenge might have driven him, but the person responsible for it all was dead and wasn't coming back. He was the strongest being in the Universe, not through destiny or any accomplishment of his own, but simply because the strongest two had killed themselves. He hadn't climbed to the top of the mountain. It had exploded, and he had found himself laying on top of the rubble that it once was.


	2. Welcome to the Universe

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. All plot questions will be answered as the story progresses. As to it having a darker feel, that's the point with this particular story. I'm trying my hand at a new style of writing. Yes, the humans are perma dead as of this point in the story, though Piccolo and Kami are alive, as per the events on Namek in the Manga.

-0000000000000-

Another restless night. Once more, at his side, laid the woman that almost always did, back to him and facing the other direction. The human concept of intimacy was completely foreign to him. Saiya-jins fucked for procreation or fun, never for any idealistic notion of being close to another person. He had made as much clear their first night together, when she had tried to embrace him.

With a grumble he gave up on trying to sleep, and after a short shower found himself standing outside, gazing up at the moon once again asking himself what the purpose of his life was. His vengeance had been denied, his rise to power shot down and his revenge against the man responsible impossible. What was there to do from this point? How could he prove himself stronger than a man who died after besting the strongest monster the universe had ever seen?

A small smirk crossed his features as he realized the answer to that question.

By killing a stronger monster.

If he could best someone that even Kakarotto at his strongest couldn't have handled, than he was confident that he would be free of this rut he had found himself in. He would prove himself the strongest, and take that title with his own hands and erase the blow to his pride by simply being handed it. And somewhere along the way, he would find the secret to the legendary transformation.

But that wasn't enough. No, there was something else that he had to do. One other mater that would have to be dealt with.

-0000000000000-

From his meditations, Piccolo felt the sudden jump in power and suspected the time had come. He had felt Vegeta's power many times before during his training, but it was empty and without meaning. This time, he could clearly feel purpose behind the power, drive in the Ki. From the time they had gotten back to Earth, Piccolo had been wary of Vegeta's presence, but had felt confident that he wouldn't destroy anything until he got what he wanted from Goku. When they had learned that Goku was gone for good, his worry had magnified tenfold. There was no one strong enough to stop Vegeta, and nothing giving him any reason not to destroy the planet.

But instead of blowing up the planet as he had suspected, Vegeta had fallen into a depression. Living the life of a Ghost, of a man already dead, Piccolo had felt a little more comfortable, but suspected that eventually that phase would come to an end. He had, much against his own pride, approached Kami with the intention to fuse so that they could stop Vegeta, but Kami had refused. He had simply stated that Vegeta had changed. While he was still a monster that wouldn't hesitate to vaporize a planet full of life for any reason, he would no longer do so for no reason.

While Piccolo recognized the difference, he didn't trust the fate of the world, and Gohan's life in particular, on such a small hinge.

But he had resigned himself to simply monitoring Vegeta and spending time keeping his pupil sane. Most people usually only had to lose their father once. The half saiya-jin boy had to deal with the death of his father twice now, and each time it had fallen to Piccolo to deal with it. As much as he didn't like to admit it, however, he was quite a bit softer this time around. Thought he fact that Gohan could just fly back from whatever wilderness he decided to drop him in this time probably helped stay his usual methods.

He had settled on sparing with the boy. Desire to stay close to the memory of his recently lost father had somewhat woken up his Saiya-jin instincts. Coupled with his mothers refusal to restrict him any longer led to him truly following in his fathers footsteps. Through his own training, and Piccolo's guidance, he was quickly gaining power. If he could get Gohan to master that explosive power of his, Gohan could surely inherit his father's will and protect the Earth from anyone...including Vegeta.

Realizing that Vegeta was headed right for Gohan, Piccolo powered up to his fullest and flew off to intercept the Saiya-jin prince.

-0000000000000-

A few miles to his right, closing quickly to being in his way, Vegeta felt a familiar power approaching. In normal instances, a smirk would have crossed his face as he prepared to relish in crushing someone for getting in his way, but even he found himself somewhat different than he had been before. While he would enjoy destroying the Namek, he had things to do. The Namek would take time to beat and little would come from his defeat.

A few moments later and he dropped to a stop, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for the Namek to arrive. He didn't have to wait long as Piccolo stopped in his previous path.

"Your in my way." He said after a moment. "I've killed for less."

Piccolo took up a similar position with his arms crossed his chest, seemingly trying to stare the smaller warrior down. "If your going to kill Gohan, you're going to have to go through me first."

Vegeta laughed darkly. "I wouldn't let my words flow so freely Namek. If I was going to kill the brat, I would have already done it. No, I have business with him."

Piccolo seemed slightly shocked, but quickly covered it. "What kind of business?" His voice was dry, skeptical.

"The kind that's none of your business." Vegeta replied quickly, dismissing the Namek. "But if you must know, I'm getting off this blasted rock, and the brats coming with me."

Piccolo didn't bother hiding his surprise, or defiance, this time. "I'm not letting that happen."

Vegeta's power began to slowly and steadily rise, as though a warning. "You have a choice... Either you willingly get out of my way, or I blast you into oblivion, take the brat, and then vaporize the planet. With the fool gone, someone has to make sure the half-breed turns into a proper Saiya-jin."

The Saiya-jin prince watched as the Namek weighed his options before powering up and blasting past. He didn't need to wait for an answer. The Namek wasn't stupid. Resistance would lead to his and the planets demise.

-0000000000000-

When Vegeta landed outside of the Son home, Gohan was standing outside, waiting for him with a bag sitting on the ground beside him, already packed. Behind him, in the darkness of his house, his mother stood looking on. She had tried to talk him out of it when he explained, but he had reasoned with her. No one on the planet was strong enough to even try to stop Vegeta right now. He would have to do as the prince asked.

She had said something about how much like his father he was, and had seemed to float off into her memories for a moment before coming back. She had taken a few minutes to pack his back before kissing him on the forehead and demanding that he come back alive and to make sure he pick up some Senzu beans for the trip. He had stepped outside, and Vegeta had landed a few seconds later.

"When do we leave?" Gohan asked simply.

Vegeta raised his eyebrows in response, probably wondering how he knew. "Now."

Gohan nodded and picked up his bag, following after Vegeta as the prince lifted into the air and shot back towards capsule corps.

"Piccolo told me that you were coming." Gohan said from behind him, trailing a little. Vegeta lowered his speed so that the boy could keep up, albeit not without pushing himself. "Why are you taking me with you?"

Vegeta grunted. "You and I are the last Saiya-jins left. I'm going to earn the title of the strongest in the universe, and join the ranks of Super Saiya-jin. I'm going to need minions, and your the only person on this planet worthy of licking my boots."

Behind him, Gohan rolled his eyes. He wasn't a stupid boy. Quite the contrary, he was absurdly intelligent for his age. Vegeta, at no point in his life, had traveled alone. He had always had Nappa and Raditz at his side. Only after Earth had he been alone, and even that was short lived. More importantly, his company had always been Saiya-jin. As much as he denied it, the Prince found comfort in being with his own race. Without Frieza alive to plot revenge against, and without his father alive for Vegeta to devote his life to crushing, Vegeta had lost anyone he had to focus his victory at all cost will against. The fact that he was suddenly so active meant that he had found purpose again.

"Who are you going after?" Gohan asked, knowing that Vegeta's target would always be another being.

"The only person in the known universe stronger than Frieza." He paused for a moment, and Gohan noticed him spit off to the side. "The only living person, at any rate."

Gohan felt apprehension growing inside him. "Who could be stronger than Frieza?" He felt a power level spike a short distance to the side, knowing it to be his mentor.

"His father." Vegeta's gaze shifted in Piccolo's direction, apparently spotting it as well. "Go say your goodbyes and get some of those beans if you plan on coming back alive. If your not at the ship in five, I'll destroy the planet."

Gohan nodded and shot towards the Lookout, expecting Piccolo to follow.

-0000000000000-

He hadn't needed to go all the way to the lookout. Piccolo met up with him about half way there, a bag of Senzu's already in his hand. As Gohan approached, he tossed the bad to him. "I thought you would need these if you were going with Vegeta."

Gohan grinned. "Yeah. I didn't think that it would hurt." His smile died on his lips as he saw how serious Piccolo was.

"If we both attack him at the same time, we might be able to beat him. You've come a long way with your training."

"I'm getting better...but I don't think we can beat him. Even if we could, I don't think that dad would want us to."

Piccolo shook his head, getting ready to make some comment about his father, but decided that it was too soon. "Trying to be your father will get you into trouble if your not careful."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, but this time I think its ok. Vegeta's been changing ever since dad beat him. It's slow...but in the past, he would have just taken me and blown up the planet anyways."

Piccolo nodded. He couldn't argue that.

"Well, I've got to go." He said, turning to leave. "If I don't get down there Vegeta might really blow up the planet."

-0000000000000-

A noise brought Vegeta's attention down from the ship that he was prepping for launch, but he already knew who it was before he turned around.

"And just what do you think your doing with my ship?" Asked the voice, a very slight hang to the words.

"I'm getting it ready for launch, what does it look like woman?" Vegeta went back to loading up supplies.

"I don't remember giving you permission to take my ship."

"And I don't remember asking." He said dismissively, looking inside to make sure that the console was warming up.

She marched up to him and jabbed a finger into his chest as he turned around. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Vegeta glared at her, looking her in the eyes. "Oh, whats the matter? Poor baby about to lose the only other man in her life that means something?" He laughed darkly. "Sad that your nightly fuck is the closest thing you have to a relationship to another person at this point."

She slapped him, hard, resulting in a great deal of pain in her hand and none to the intended target. "How dare you?"

Another chuckle. "Oh. And your an abusive drunk. Lovely."

She held her injured hand with her other and glared at him. "Get that ship ready to go, and then get the fuck out. I never want to see you here again."

His eyes wandered to the side and hers followed, settling on Gohan who had just recently landed. He looked around and shifted awkwardly, only partially aware of what he had just stumbled into.

"Um...sorry." He stammered.

"Oh Gohan, I'm so sorry you had to hear that." She said running over to him. "Do you need anything? Is something wrong?"

Gohan shook his head. "No, actually. I mean, yeah, kind of. I'm going on a trip with Vegeta."

Another shocked look, which Gohan was starting to get used to. Behind her, Vegeta gestured towards the ship, telling him with a look to get his ass in there.

Gohan's response was a quick nod. "Um, bye Bulma." And then he was on board.

She turned around with fire in her eyes. "Over my dead body."

Vegeta held up his hand with a smirk, a blue glow starting to surround it. "That can be arranged."

She held up the resistance for a moment before suddenly looking very tired and backing up, leaning against a table. "Does his mother at least know?"

Vegeta let the Ki die down and shrugged. "I assume as much. I'm guessing the Namek let them know it was come with me or die."

She glared again. "Your a monster."

He chuckled. "And your sleeping with me. Whats that say about you?"

She knocked some things off the desk and turned to storm out of the room.

Vegeta, for his part, was stepping onto the ship and getting ready to close it up. "Also, if you want that parasite growing in your stomach to not come out deformed, you might want to stop drinking yourself stupid."

She turned back with confusion on her face as the door closed shut, blocking his view of her. He turned and walked into the cockpit, and hit a few buttons to start the ship up. One more sequence and it lifted off the ground, launching into the sky above.

"Where is Freiza's father at?" Gohan asked, looking over from his chair.

"He's supposed to have an empire somewhere in the western quadrant." He responded as he turned back towards the main section of the ship. "Get off your ass. We need to test the gravity chamber on this ship."


	3. My Immortal

(AN: Each of the chapters is titled after a song. This is intentional as I've picked songs that reflect the theme/emotions in each chapter...erm. Except maybe chapter 2. Its a bit of a stretch. The rest of them are as intended though. Ten -could- be resurrected, but he wouldn't leave his little white buddy.)

-0000000000000-

Training with Vegeta was much different than anything that he had gone through in his life. As a very young child his father had taught him some basic things, mainly katas, while his mother wasn't looking. His father's death had begun his first real training. While it had never been a legitimate threat to his life, it had been an important time of development for him.

Six months later Piccolo had decided he was ready, and had began training him in the arts of combat. Learning the Demon style had been brutal, but the intelligent side of his mind had found interest in it. Even without the Saiya-jin will to fight, there was something satisfying about learning the stances and maneuvers. Later, on the trip to Namek, he had even started to study the physics of them, and his mental sparing with Krillan had developed his Ki control.

After his father died the second time, he had started for the first time to train alone. Exercises learned from watching his father and meditation learned from Piccolo. He had done his best to work in some moves the he had seen his father use briefly both on Earth and on Namek to various degrees of success. More productive had been his spars with Piccolo. All the groundwork theory in the world holds little weight without real world application, and that's what the spars allowed for.

By the time Vegeta had claimed him, he had been sparing on equal ground with the Namek, though that frustrated Piccolo to no end. Not because of how strong Gohan was, he was highly proud of that fact, but of how much potential laid hidden inside him, twisted and constrained by his dependency on emotions. Through further meditations he had slowly began to unlock some of that emotion driven power for his normal state, which is why his growth had been so quick, but the majority of it laid beyond his grasp.

Sparing with Vegeta seemed to be quickly crossing that barrier, though. Gohan could see it in the prince as they fought. He was fueled by strong, dark emotions. Anger, disgust, regret, pain. But unlike Gohan they didn't control him, instead he fueled them through himself. His actual style was, while aggressive, very controlled and precise. It was much like fighting Piccolo, with more fuel and drive behind the actions themselves.

That's not to say that Vegeta was perfect by any means. He was tapped into the almost full potential of his emotions, meaning that unlike Gohan he had little room for getting much stronger at any given time. Despite his controlled exterior, Vegeta had also proven on several occasions in the past that he was prone to letting that control slip, and letting his emotions take control. That left him reckless and sloppy without the massive power burst that served to negate some of that drawback when the same thing happened to Gohan.

Well…that wasn't so much Vegeta having a major weakness so much as it was Gohan having an incredible strength. Any fighter is more reckless when upset…Gohan just got so strong that it almost voided that weakness against anything but an opponent equal to his burst power.

In the month that had followed since they left, Gohan had paid careful attention to the way Vegeta fought, and had studied his style. It took years to really master a style, but nothing said that Gohan couldn't incorporate some of it into the Demon style that he used. More important was paying attention to Vegeta's personality as he fought. That cold ruthlessness worked very well. His father would punch, kick, and fight with mutual respect to his opponent. Vegeta fought to win.

-0000000000000-

Gohan shifted his weight to his forward foot and brought his arms up in front of him in a cross to catch and brace against the axe kick Vegeta was bringing down on him. Pain shot through his arms and he almost swore he heard something crack, but using all his strength he managed to twist around and send the leg to his side, leaving Vegeta's midsection exposed to the much smaller fighter.

Gohan went to strike, as a sudden flashback of his father striking at Vegeta blew through his mind. Dazed for a moment, leapt back, putting some distance between them as Vegeta righted himself, looking at Gohan with a disapproving gaze before launching forwards to strike him in the face.

Once more Gohan brought his weight onto his forward left leg, raising his left arm in front of his face to take the blow. As the pain from impact shot through him, he saw himself from an outside perspective, his father superimposed over him. Losing his footing, he fell on his butt. Not missing a beat, Vegeta stepped forward and smashed him in the face the a ki-powered fist. Blood sprayed out as the bone and cartilage broke under the undefended attack and Gohan screamed in pain as Vegeta mearly smirked.

"That was cheap!" Gohan cried, rolling over onto his hands and knees, gripping his nose to try and stop some of the blood from flowing out.

Under his arm, he could see Vegeta glaring at him. "There is no such thing as cheap in a fight. There is no honor in second place."

Gohan shook his head. "It's not about winning, it's about the fight itself! There's honor in how you fight!" Thoughts of his father giving opponents second chances, of waiting for enemies to power up to their full came to his mind.

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "Stand up."

Gohan gritted his teeth and started to do so, as he got a quick glimpse of Vegeta's boot before it slammed into his face, lifting him up and off the ground as blood shot once more out of his now most assuredly broken nose and busted lip.

Landing on his shoulder which cracked under the force, Gohan slid backwards several meters, feeling a slight burn forming as the friction rubbed his skin raw. It hurt bad, real bad. Flashes of the fight with Nappa came to mind, of Rikkum breaking his neck, of Freiza almost crushing his face. Memories of worse pain took the edge off what he was feeling, and shakily he managed to stand back up.

He was greeted by Vegeta's hand being held in his face, a blue glow of Ki around it. Fear flooded through him as he realized that he had crossed the line, that Vegeta had decided that his weakness would hinder him far too much and had decided to get rid of him.

"Bang." Vegeta said, as the Ki dissipated from his outstretched arm. "You fought with honor, brat, and I fought dirty. The end result?" He chuckled. "You died, and I blew up your planet, killing everyone you made the mistake of caring about." Before Gohan could react, Vegeta kneed him in the gut, dropping him to his knees and knocking the wind out of him, the crunching sound he heard in his ears told him he had probably cracked a rib or three. "The only honorable death is one that achieves your goals in the process. Your father died defeating Frieza so he wouldn't kill you and Earth. He was a fool to care for others, let alone give his life for them, but he died with honor. Remember that, brat."

And then Vegeta had left, leaving Gohan to collect himself from his wounds alone, pain and blood loss making him delirious, various hallucinations of his father fighting opponents in ways that very strongly contradicted what Vegeta had just said. As he watched, as he felt the blood covering his face and mating his hair unable to move, the thought that Vegeta had a point was only slightly behind the very persistent thought that he was going to die.

-0000000000000-

As his senses slowly came back to him, his eyes slowly opened, his first thought being that the afterlife was surprisingly green tinted. Of course, as reason started to kick in, he realized that he was floating in a healing tank like the one his father had used on Namek, and that the tingling sensation that was covering his body was it stitching itself back together. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but he already felt a million times better than he had before he blacked out.

A green light flicked on, as despite himself he thought about the absurdity of a green light being used in a chamber with green tinted liquid, and a beeping began sounding as the liquid drained from around him. A few moments later, the chamber opened and his naked, wet body was greeted unkindly by the cool air of the ship. His hair stood on end as he stumbled out of the chamber, raising a hand to protect his eyes from the sticky liquid that was dripping down.

A few feet away, laid out on a chair, was a set of Saiya-jin armor and a towel. Not wanting to be exposed any longer than nessisary, Gohan quickly set about doing what he needed to. Following, thoughts of his father's and Vegeta's ideologies very visually clashing in his mind led him to head to the gravity room the moment he was dressed, to drown out the noise and images with physical strain.

His routine was the one that he had been developing on Earth. Start with some very light exercise to get his blood flowing, and then some brief meditation to get his mind in the moment before stretching. He would then step it up with some heavy exercise designed with elements of what he remembered from his fathers stories of his various teachers, of what Piccolo had put him through, and now incorporating some of Vegeta's very straightforwards methods. Once he could barely stand, he would cool off with a light jog and another half hour of meditation. The main difference between then and now were Vegeta's methods...and 170x Earth's gravity.

Gohan sighed as he stood up and wiped his brow, turning the gravity machine machine off.. He knew that his father, while far weaker than he was now, had trained in 100x Earths Gravity. He suspected that there was some relationship between mass and an increasingly exponential amount of Ki required to move it, but he wasn't quite able to work out the specifics. After all, he was easily 50x stronger than his father when he had landed on Namek, and a 70% increase was all he had managed. The numbers simply weren't linear.

"Brat." Vegeta grumbled as he pushed past him and into the chamber, not acknowledging the damage and hell he had put him through in the least. Gohan stopped and turned around, just barely aware of Vegeta twisting the dial up to 200g, a perhaps very slight approving look as he noticed the previous settings. It was so fleeting, however, that Gohan suspected he had imagined it.

"Vegeta" Gohan called the princes name, not quite having left the room. In his mind, Vegeta was beginning to win as his logic found more base with Gohan, but his father was still somehow managing to hold on despite Vegeta taking advantage of less than fair tactics.

"Better be good brat. Otherwise you'll be playing in 200g with me." Vegeta characteristically crossed his arms over his chest while looking down at him.

"If the only thing that matters in a fight is winning, then why didn't my dad ever fight dirty? Even when our lives were on the line, he still fought fair."

A knowing smirk crept across Vegeta's features. "Seems like your not quite as brain dead as I thought. Your father was a warrior first, hero second every moment of his life regardless of what you pitiful Earthlings seemed to think." He spat to the side at Earthlings. "While being a "good" guy and saving the day might have given him some minor direction, he fought stronger opponents for the sake of fighting them. He didn't let me live because he sensed some foolish good in me, he wanted to fight me again. He didn't fight Frieza because he was a threat to the Universe, he fought Frieza because he was incredibly strong."

Gohan shook his head. "So your saying he didn't care about us? Your wrong!" He yelled. "I thought you said he fougth Frieza to the death to protect us? An honorable death? That's my father!"

Vegeta's smirk fell and he backhanded Gohan, knocking him down for what seemed like the billionth time. "Stop being stupid and pay attention to what I'm saying. Your father -fought- for the sake of fighting. That idiot -died- for the sake of his foolish emotions. He was the perfect Saiya-jin warrior tainted by your human mindsets. But ask yourself this, brat. How many times did your father risk the sake of the world to enjoy a good fight, even when it seemed very clear that he had already lost?"

Gohan had gotten back up on his knees and was listening quietly as he wiped away a little trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Any other stupid questions?" Vegeta was starting to look bored, which was never a good thing for anyone else.

"No...thats...I think I understand Vegeta." Gohan quickly stood back up and gave a slight polite bow.

Vegeta grunted. "Good. Now get the hell out of my training room."

Gohan felt a blow against his head, though not one that was intended to hurt him...much, as he was literally kicked out of the room. The attack hadn't been strong enough to even knock him down, though, so he landed on his feet in the hall as the room sealed.

A slight smile crossed his face as he walked back to his room. His father had lived a Saiya-jin, but had very much died a human. But Vegeta was right. It was why he fought that was important to him, not the fight itself. In protecting his friends and loved ones he would do everything in his power to do so, dishonorable or not, just as Vegeta did the same thing for the sake of what he fought for.

In his mind his father finally fell, Vegeta standing proudly over the beaten warrior.


	4. Master of Puppets

(AN: Odds are, this is the last time that I'll be doing this, both because I won't be able to justify it after this point and because I probably won't want to, but you guys get a present in this chapter. For reference sake, this story goes with SSJ Goku Vs. Frieza being at 150 million vs. 120 million. Um...chapter gets pretty dark later on.)

-0000000000000-

The clanging of silverware, the odd sound of munching, various items of food meeting the end of their existence. Vegeta ate his meals at the same time each day. Breakfast after training in the morning, lunch after training around noon, dinner after training at night. It kept him from being uncomfortable by giving his body enough time to deal with the extra mass.

A sliding sound to his left caused him to look up from his half empty plate to see the halfbreed enter in. A slight grunt was issued in greeting before he turned back to his food, placing the quickly emptied plate on top of the growing stack beside it.

"Vegeta." Was Gohan's response, with a slight nod before he went about compiling his own meal from the fridge. Appetite was something that had clearly been inherited from his Saiya-jin parent, as evident by the mass of food that he was loading up on before returning to the table.

It had been another two months since the brat had his little revelation, and since then Vegeta had noticed a marked improvement in his performance. He had cast aside the ideologies of his father that he had been trying to force himself to follow, and had instead adopted something that he himself could believe in.

A slight smirk came to his face. It brought Vegeta some small pleasure that said ideology was flavored more of his own than Kakarots. Even if the drive was a foolish Earthling one, now that his goal was victory alone, that could be worked on later.

"What?" Gohan asked looking at himself in a glass wondering if, despite his overly careful eating for a Saiya-jin, he had gotten something on his face.

Vegeta scowled. "Nothing, brat. If it was any of your business I would have told you."

As much as it annoyed him, the brat had grown accustom to his presence, and his words had ceased having any real impact. Gohan's response was a simple shrug before he went back to eating.

Their meal was interrupted by a third voice, one that made the hair on the back of Vegeta's neck raise.

"Destination approaching, Docking in five minutes."

Vegeta growled. "Why that egotistical woman gave this machine her own voice pattern is beyond me."

Gohan's response was a chuckle. "I think you answered your own question."

Another growl from the prince. "Whatever, smart ass." He stood up and walked to the door. "For that, you get to clean up this mess while I see to docking."

Gohan looked around. Vegeta wasn't the neatest eater in the world, but as far as Saiya-jins went, he figured that he was fairly civilized. There was little in the way of an actual mess present. "Alright...not really much of a mess though."

As Vegeta raised his hand, he could tell from the look on the brats face that he realized he had just screwed up. He released a very small Kai towards the table, shattering the dishes and sending shards of glass and partially eaten food across the entire room.

With a smirk, he turned and left not saying another word.

-0000000000000-

Vegeta was slightly surprised when Gohan showed up a full twenty seconds before the docking was complete, even going so far as to have dressed in a clean battle uniform.

His momentary surprise must have been noticed, because Gohan raised his eyebrows. "You think dad did any chores? I was helping mom with the housework since I was two."

Vegeta smirked. "Good. If your planet gets destroyed, you can apply for a position as a space maid. I know some captains that have a particular taste for young boys."

Gohan looked away and rubbed the back of his head nervously, trying not to think about what Vegeta had meant. After a few moments he looked back. "So what kind of place is this?"

Vegeta looked towards the door as it beeped, apparently signaling that they had docked. "Used to be one of Frieza's space stations. This particular model is designed to monitor a specific region of his territory and serve as both to house a local contingent of soldiers as well as serve as a communications array. Since Frieza's fall, I don't know."

Gohan looked slightly dumbfounded at Vegeta. "You mean we're just casually docking at a potentially hostile port?!"

Vegeta grinned. "Something like that. Don't worry brat, we've got some degree of cover. There's no record surviving that I betrayed Freiza on Namek, and further, no record of what exactly killed him. Try and keep it that way."

Gohan gulped a bit and nodded.

Vegeta reached an arm out and tapped a few keys by the airlock, causing it to twist in on its center and slide to the side, revealing a long path wide enough for them to walk single file, but tall enough that neither had to duck.

The prince crossed his arms over his chest as he proceeded down the corridor, a very slight degree of apprehension coming over him. No creature on record outside of Frieza's family, and a certain dead Saiya-jin, had a power greater than a million. Both he and the brat were far, far stronger than that which meant that no remnants of Frieza's empire should pose a threat to them, but he hadn't survived this long by being reckless.

The pathway opened up to a large room where all of the docks met, a door straight before them with a scanner in front of it, a few security guards standing around in what looked like older armor models.

"1%" Vegeta roughly whispered behind to Gohan as they exited the tunnle.

"What?" Gohan whispered back.

"Thats a scanning device. Drop your strength to 1%. We don't want to raise too many suspicions."

Gohan nodded and obeyed, dropping his power to about 1% of his max.

Vegeta continued forwards, and the guard at the desk took notice of him. The guard was a green skinned alien with scales covering his body. Vegeta knew was familier with the race a one evolved from lizards on a desert world in this sector.

The guard nodded to him. There were few people in the empire that didn't recognize the Saiya-jin prince.

"One moment." The guard said, hitting a button and raising a device to his ear.

"Yes. Thats right. Let him in? Ok." He placed the device back down. "You have been granted permission to enter, but you'll have to meet with the captain of the station."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Right. And where is this captain?"

The guard hit a button, causing lights on the scanner to come on. "Someone will meet you right inside." And then he gestured.

Vegeta complied and walked forwards, with Gohan taking notice of a screen above that flashed various symbols. He thought it might be useful, so he had been studying the alien language on and off during the trip. "Galactic Common." Vegeta had called it. And while it was a little rough, he thought that he could read it.

To the side, the guard looked fairly stunned and hit a few buttons, causing the device to run again. Assured that it wasn't broken, he looked at Vegeta.

"125,000?! Incredible. Your stronger than captain Ginyu was when he was lost."

Vegeta just laughed and kept walking forwards, the door before him opening up.

Gohan stepped forwards, already knowing what, then, his would be. Piccolo had been an expert on sensing Ki, and it was a skilled he had passed on. Not just that, but the months of sparing with Vegeta left him knowing exactly where he stood by comparison.

"40,000..." He stammered. "Your just a kid..."

Vegeta looked back, seeing Gohan do that annoying thing of rubbing the back of his head and grinning awkwardly before hurrying after the prince.

Looking back at where they were heading, the doors opened before him, revealing a large open area. There were various exits and passages throughout, various signs and directions listed. In the middle was what looked like a circular courtyard, complete with tables and chairs of various shapes and sizes.

"Keep your level where it is." Vegeta said, noticing some devices scattered about. "There are scanners all over the place."

Gohan nodded.

"Vegeta..." Said a familiar voice. Vegeta's skin tightened and his muscles contracted, ready to spring quickly as he shifted his gaze to the side.

"Salza." was his response as he continued walking, not bothering to acknowledge the blue skinned warrior any more than that.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and had to force himself not to strike. "Don't be so hasty, Vegeta."

"I have things to do." Vegeta growled. "Unless you want me to remove that hand, permanently, I suggest you let me go about them."

"Temper, temper, Vegeta." Salza said coolly. "You might have bested Ginyu's power, but he was always second to me, remember?"

Vegeta had to suppress his chuckle. One percent of his power was ruffling Salza's feathers. He was starting to have a feeling for how Frieza felt... and some part of him liked it.

"Right." Vegeta restrained the urge to roll his eyes. "What business does the leader of the great armored squadron have with me anyways?"

"Better." Salza grinned, content with his perceived power. "For starters, what have you been doing the past year and a half or so? Theres no record since right before Frieza went missing."

Vegeta chuckled. "Took the liberty of a personal vacation." Vegeta answered smoothly. "No one ever called, so I didn't bother coming back. I assumed the only way I'd get lost between the cracks was if Frieza died, and apparently I was right. Make no mistake, Salza. I would have killed him eventually. But it wasn't me that did him in."

"That could be taken as treason Vegeta..." Salza said with mock thought. "But I'll let it slide. As a result, Coola will be taking over his brothers territory."

Vegeta could tell that Salza was very clearly watching for a reaction, so he gave him none. Instead he remarked in an off hand way "I assumed either he or their father would."

"King Kold is much too busy to be bothered." He turned to look fully at Vegeta. "But with Frieza dead...what are you planning, Vegeta? Your not the type to settle down. I'm sure my lord would be happy to find work for you."

Vegeta chuckled once more. "I know that it won't be a choice, once he fully takes over this region. Until then, I'm sticking to my vacation." He gestured towards Gohan. "Starting my own squad Salza. Better watch your reputation if you don't want to get left in our shadow."

Salza's response was to do exactly what Vegeta expected: burst out in laughter and walk away, writing Vegeta and Gohan off without any further thought. He muttered to himself as he continued forwards. "Arrogant prick."

Apparently it had been slightly too loud, because behind him he heard the brat chuckle.

"So...Frieza has a brother?"

Vegeta didn't answer the obvious question.

"So...why aren't you going after him?"

Vegeta's reply was to toss a pad over his shoulder, which he assumed the half-breed caught due to the lack of a crashing sound.

"Because, 1st, I know where he's going. Second, he's weaker than Frieza. There's nothing to be gained by killed him." Vegeta shrugged. "I'll take my time wiping him out after I prove my strength by dispatching the strongest of his race."

A hesitation in his step, a slight pause in his breath. Vegeta took notice of it, and knew what it was. He had convinced the brat that fighting was ok, that fighting for victory was even right. Hunting down and slaughtering an opponents family, knowing full and well that their no threat to you, that was something else entirely.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shape running up to them. It was a young girl, no more than 16. Sharp, almost overly romanticized, angular facial features were perhaps the first thing one would notice about the girl, which then would naturally lead to her long straight brown hair that hung freely to the small of her back. Her skin color was closer to a slightly golden color that was separate from the human spectrum of skin tones. A red and black dress accented her almost shining copper eyes, while revealing the toned, lithe body underneath with stylized gaps in the clothing. "Ahh. Well aren't you a cutie!" She was all smiles, which contrasted nicely to the frown Vegeta was wearing. But said frown twisted itself into a smirk as something came to mind.

He jerked his his head towards Gohan. "Babysit the brat behind me for awhile. I'll be by in an hour to collect him."

She gave him a curious look. "That's not really what I do..."

Vegeta shrugged. "The fact that your running up to me at all means your either have no idea who I am, or are very stupid. For the former, I am Prince Vegeta." He saw a look of recognition come to her eyes and knew he didn't have to address the latter. "Good. Now watch the brat. I'm sure you know what will happen if you don't."

She gulped and nodded.

"Vegeta!" Gohan looked rather confused at him.

"I have things to take care of brat. Stay." He started to walk away, not bothering to look back. "Good boy."

-0000000000000-

Gohan sat awkwardly at a table, sipping on some blue liquid that the girl had bought for him. He really couldn't place the flavor, but after a tastes, had decided that he liked it. It was a sweet with a slightly salty taste, and something else he wasn't even sure if he had a word for.

Thus far, they hadn't spoken. She had asked him if he was thirsty, and when he had replied yes, got him a drink. Since, they had been sitting across from each other at a table, sipping on their respective beverages. What he had noticed was the odd fearful glances that she occasionally cast in his direction.

A half hour into this, he had run out of liquid despite how slowly he had tried to drink it, and was forced to address the situation.

"So..." He started, her reaction to visibly jump as her attention turned back from whatever distant thoughts she had drifted off into. Fear, again, which was starting to annoy him a little.

"I'm...not really like Vegeta." He tried, attempting to reassure her.

"Oh...ok." Of course, she wasn't actually any more convinced of this fact that she had been previously. "So are you with him then?"

He rubbed the back of his head and smiled like his father. "Well...um. Vegeta threatened to blow up my planet unless I did. My dad wasn't there to stop him, so I didn't have much choice."

She tilted her head slightly, looking a little more sympathetic. "Ohh. You poor thing. Where was your daddy at?"

Young as he was, Gohan felt that he was mature enough that the child talk wasn't exactly appropriate, but he decided to deal with it, feeling a very slight twitch come to his brow that he was ashamed to admit he might have picked up from Vegeta. "He died on another planet while we were fighting Fre..." Catching himself, he did his best to cover. "...aks of nature that were attacking it."

She blinked. If she had any idea of the truth behind his words, she didn't show it. He doubted it though, as to most everyone in the universe the very thought of anyone even fighting Frieza was laughable at best.

"That's so sad. I'm sure your daddy would have beat up Vegeta if he was still around."

Gohan rubbed the back of his head, the cooing voice getting to him. "Erm...I might be six, but I've seen a lots of fights and most of my friends have died right in front of me... could you treat me as a little older than that?"

Another blink, and she nodded, responding in a more neutral voice. "Yeah, sure babe."

Gohan's turn to blink. She had certainly switched roles pretty quick. "Ah...better. I think." He wasn't quite sure how to take it. "That seemed pretty easy for you."

She shrugged. "In my line of work, you have to be used to playing different roles. Everyones wants something different." She sighed. "Sometimes some rich prick wants a hot, ditsy chick hanging on his arm, other times..." He caught a hint of the same thing he had just done as she pulled something else out to say other than what she was going to. "Well, you get the option of being blown up or babysitting a sweet little cutie." Slipping back into the overly cooing tone.

Gohan nodded. "Ah...I see. What kind of work do you do, sales?"

She laughed. "Yeah...yeah." Choking a bit on her drink. "Something like that, kid."

He frowned. "I'm really not that much younger than you are."

She eyed him from over her glass. "I bet where you come from is pretty peaceful, huh?"

He thought about it, the only places he really had to compare it to were Namek and here, so that wasn't exactly a large enough sample to really say. But...by that comparison. "Yeah...mostly. There's been a lot of exciting things happen. Wars, demons trying to take over, the Saiya-jins landing...but other than that its mostly peaceful."

She raised her eyebrows. "Sounds eventful. More eventful than most... But when you live some place like this, serving as the center point of a hundred planets, something like that is happening every day. And when your in my line of work, you have to hear about it all, and deal with all of the ramifications of it. Your six kiddo. How long have you been at this?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened. "About...two years? My uncle showed up, a Namek we thought was a demon killed him and my dad, kidnapped me, and then forced me to train for a year. After which, Vegeta shows up, all of my dads friends get killed in front of me except one of them, and then we had to go off to..." He trailed off. "Um...fight freaks on another planet. My dads other friend died there."

She swirled her glass around looking at him intently, a slight smile on her face. "I thought you said your dad died fighting freaks on some alien world?"

Gohan felt himself sweat a bit, suddenly very much feeling his age. "He did...well...um."

She laughed and leaned forwards, so that her head was right next to his. He could feel her breath on his ear as she whispered. "You should be a little more careful with who you tell what." She felt him tense. "Thats right. I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to reason out that your father came back because of dragonballs or that your little adventure took place on Namek. But then again, other people don't have my resources, either."

She leaned back in her chair, removing a pack from her pocket before knocking what Gohan thought looked like a ciggerette in her hand before lighting it and beginning to smoke. She noticed the confusion on his face. "What? You don't think we have tobacco out here either?"

He slightly shook his head. "N...no. The other thing..."

She rolled her eyes. "No shit." Then she sighed as she blew a stream of smoke off to the side. "Look, kid. Your fine." She gestured around. "I have to manage several hundred planets. You think Frieza ran everything?" She scoffed. "No. He flew around in his little hover car while sending other people to do just about everything. Conquering planets? Saiya-jins, up until he got pissy and blew up theirs. Running his Empire and making sure it stays floating? Look for these stations. Whoever is in charge there. No, Frieza got to play emperor through virtue of power and who his father is. Now King Kold, theres an real emperor. All that power and he still manages to keep tabs on his massive empire. I suppose thats happens when your over a thousand years old."

To say Gohan's shock to this sudden information overload was apparent would be about the same as saying that the ocean is large. Still, he remained fascinated.

"And you know what his death actually accomplishes? Things run more smoothly. You know what Cooler coming and laying claim is going to do? I'm going to have another idiot running around making messes that I have to clean up."

Gohan shifted nervously, wondering what kind of situation Vegeta had gotten him into, and if the Prince knew what he had done.

"So. Here's what I want to know. Can Vegeta do it too?"

Confusion had become Gohan's natural state by this point of the "conversation."

"Uh...what do you mean?"

"You know. Super Saiya-jin."

Gohan sweat dropped, wondering what kind of resources she had.

"No...not yet, at least. He's trying really hard though."

She chuckled. "Then he should be going after Frieza's brother, not Kold. Now -that- apple managed to fall even farther from the tree. He's lucky if he's got 10% of Frieza's strength."

Gohan sighed. "I think that's why we're not going after him. Vegeta wants to kill something stronger than Frieza."

Another chuckle. "No, Vegeta wants to die, and thinks that he wants to kill something stronger than Frieza. I'm telling you, if he can't do that Super thing, he's going to get killed, and your going to get killed with him. Your a good kid, I'll have to feel a little bad when I hear that news."

Another sweat drop on his end. "Um...thanks for the vote of confidence I guess. So...uh...should you really be saying stuff like that out loud though? What if the wrong people hear you?"

She rolled her eyes. "There isn't a person on this station I haven't accounted for, and there isn't a single person anywhere that I don't want them to be."

He was about to respond when his world shifted, vision shifting as Saiya-jin instincts kicked in.

A half second beat. A searing light, and a scream. Blood splattered across his face, a warm sensation as it made contact. Across the table as well, and as the girl hit the surface with eyes still wide with pain, the light striking it began to reflect crimson.

Three men. The blue one from earlier, a brown one, and a green one. But they all blurred together with the same red tint, the blood and anger clouding his vision.

Satisfaction, rather than anger. Joy at the killing. "I guess you didn't count on us then, you treasons whore."

Focus shifts to the girl. Struggling, still holding on to life. Strong will to live. An attempt at breath, but futile without her lungs. Even so, managing to hold herself off, to spite the death that was looming over her.

Sudden and aggressive, a gloved white hand defies her resistance as it seizes her brown hair, dragging her up and back painfully.

Power, control. More enjoyment. "What, can't talk your way out of this one, bitch?" A moment passes and shes unable to speak, more blood spilling from her lips and chest. A moments all it takes for him to grow bored, and her face is thrust forwards. A sickening crack rings through his ears as it makes contact with the the table. Bone shatters and more blood sprays, but the table gives way and shes left in a heap as she crashes to the ground.

Lust. "Oh. We'll keep you alive." His voice leering. "Long enough to have some fun, anyways."

Rage and disgust shows in defiant eyes, but no energy remains to physically resist.

They move forwards, to make good on their statement, and the red tint grows from translucent to fully opaque.

A sudden rush of power dances through his veins, awakening what had lied dormant, a force seemingly only called upon without his own will.

Grin and pleasure spreads across his face to mirror their own from moments before, as an explosion of beeping shoots off around him. In an instant, the eyes of the two wingmen are rolling up into the backs of their heads, even as said heads are spiraling through the air severed from their bodies in a spray of blood.

A slight twitch, a movement of the arm. He allows the blue guy just enough time to see his allies falling before moving forwards, but not giving him time to see whats causing it.

Fist strikes forwards then from behind. Skin and muscle gives way easily, bone twisting aside like paper. But just enough force to cause the ribs to break inward, shredding the left lung.

Another moment of time passes. Salza falls to a knee and coughs blood, fear shooting through his features as he frantically looks for whats claiming his life. But his eyes find no purchase.

And then as his face explodes in pain, his ability to look for his assailant taken, the nerves and blood vessels ripping away without resistance.

Another moment passes. Gohan looks down at his two prizes before crushing them, as his opponent lets out a scream.

Once more time seems to stop, and something in him tells him that he's had enough fun. His arm strikes forwards to tear through the chest and ribs to seize the heart, but mid thrust finds much more resistance than expected.

Eyes look down to see another white glove gripping his own, and then trail up the blue spandex like material to see a familiar face and up swept flame hair.

A few moments later, everything explodes in a shower of sparks, as all ki sensitive systems break under their power.

"Brat!" A ringing in the airs, a recognition of voice. The red slowly drains away.

"Stand down, now!" Odd, interesting. The princes past was one of murder and destruction, even so far as being responsible for the death of many of the people he cared for. But now, all the voice brought with it was respect...and with respect, comfort.

And then the red was completely gone, vision returned to normal. Instincts died down and power faded away, leaving him a very emotional young boy. "Ve...Vegeta!"

He felt pain explode in the left side of his face from the following impact, and then felt himself crash into the floor. He bounced twice before slamming into, and getting embedded, in the particularly thick metal door leading back to the dock.

"Back to the ship, now." Was all Vegeta said, as he looked down on the woman.

Exhasted both emotionally and physically, Gohan settled back into a state of numb shock and complied, like a zombie following orders, barely noticing the sound of a scream quickly shut down by a small explosion.

-0000000000000-

"Eat this." Vegeta growled, as he roughly shoved a small bean into the girl's mouth. A few second later, all of the injuries that she had sustained melted way leaving her skin flawless once more.

She looked slightly surprised, and Vegeta had to smirk. "That's not a look I've seen on your face more than twice now, Zaula."

The look on her face quickly faded back to measured neutrality. "I should have you killed for that."

His smirk broadened. "As if you could. Besides, why ever would you do that."

She groaned as she sat up. "You know damned well -why-. You left me with the brat and wandered off to tip off those morons."

Vegeta nodded. "Mmm. And you let it happen. I wasn't trying that hard to be sneaky. If I thought you had gotten that stupid I would have finished you off."

She laughed. "Glad you know your place then, Vegeta."

He shrugged. "Watch your tone. You can get away with it only as long as your useful to me."

Much like she had with Gohan, she eyed him with a knowing curiosity. "You'll always need me, Vegeta. So long as you want somewhere in this galaxy to be stable."

He thought that one over, but dismissed it. "Stability is for the weak."

It was a little bit of a bluff, on his part. Proving superiority through battle was only so much. At the end of the day, he needed somewhere to return to. And once he dethroned Kold, he was going to need someone to manage the day to day affairs of his empire while me maintained that title.

"But you'll need that stability if you win...at least, if you want it to run anything like a Saiya-jin empire."

A grinned darkly at her. "You always knew me far to well." Zaula, the wild rose. She herself was at least two hundred years old. She had been around at least twice the life of the station, which itself had been around for a century. She knew about the dragon balls long before Frieza, which her appearance could attribute to. She was also the reason that knowledge had never trickled up to Frieza, until Raditz had let the birdie loose.

Of course, Vegeta hadn't been able to piece all this together...not until today, anyways.

"Let me guess. Now you get to appeal to Kold because Cooler's minions unwarrantedly attacked you, earning you a stay and indefinite rulership over this quadrant."

She nodded. "A few little tweaks to the report, bodies, ect. And the story becomes not only credible, but the truth."

He shrugged. "I knew you were game when you didn't question taking the brat."

"And I knew you were game when you insisted I take him."

Vegeta chuckled.

"You could have handled them yourself though, Vegeta. What game are you playing?"

He shrugged. "I convinced that boy that winning was everything. But I was lacking a reason for him to fight. Now I have it."

She sighed. "He really is a sweet boy. Its a shame..."

"He won't be when I'm done with him." Yes, Gohan was coming along nicely. Convincing him that winning a fight was everything was easy. Simple logic. He fights to protect his planet, thus the only thing that matters is protecting it. Which then trickles down to the more base Fight to Win, only winning matters. After that, he had to find some spark, some reason for this fight to be personal for the brat. Add in a woman getting brutalized in front of him, and it was problem mostly solved. All he had to do now was convince him that it was the norm for the Kold empire and they were in business...not that it was a lie. No...that particular truth was very much reality.

Another sigh. "So little innocence in the world Vegeta, and you have to spoil it."

He looked at her evily. "Where's the fun in innocence?"

A roll of the eyes. "I turned you down a decade ago, Vegeta. You might have gotten a lot stronger, but your still not my type. Besides, you've got a woman and a spawn of your own back home."

Vegeta spat to the side. "Don't remind me about that worthless woman and bastard child."

She shrugged. "You care about them, or at least her, like it or not. The fact that your not all over me this time around is proof enough of that."

"Hmph." He grunted, turning away from her. "I've just outgrown you, is all."

"Whatever, Vegeta. At any rate, you should be taking off. I've got work to do here."

He nodded, as he started walking towards the dock doors. "As do I."

"Did you get everything you needed?"

Vegeta missed about a quarter of a step, quickly recovering it and not paying any attention. With regards to her galaxy, she knew almost everything that happened. On her station, she literally knew everything, and he wasn't sure how she managed it. His reply to her question, however, was to tap one of his pockets as he walked through the doorway.


	5. Put Your Records on

AN: If you didn't see the edits I made to the previous chapter back when I made them, you might want to re-read it. I was very much not satisfied with the original.

-0000000000000-

Development. Course. Their journey carried them forth as it had before, the only difference being their specific changing locations and a subtle difference in the mood of the ship. Gohan had grown more somber, actually having committed himself to the thought of destroying someone in order to save the lives of countless people he didn't know from their ruthless fist... to spare his own planet the eventual fate of falling under their icy gaze. In had been four months since the events on the station, and they were closing in.

A preemptive strike. Kill or be killed. He was beginning to empathize and mirror some of Vegeta's patterns of thinking.

Vegeta grinned to himself. Exactly as he intended. He was shaping the brat to be the perfect tool. So much potential power laid sleeping within him. He had to make sure that power was pointed in the right direction when it began to manifest. As much as it irked him, the brat had more potential than he did, as he had admitted on his first trip to Earth. Something was...unnatural about halfbreeds. It almost seemed planned, somehow.

For now he just had to make sure that the brat did what he needed him to...and that he wouldn't become a problem if he ran out of "evil" to point him towards. Because of the virtue of his parentage, the thought of being wrong in his views of right and wrong didn't seem to occur to him... or maybe it was simply his young mind unable to grasp the fact that such things were subjective. Vegeta was doing this to prove his own superiority. The brat was doing it to "save" the Universe. But when it boiled down to it, it was opposing viewpoints clashing...just with a particularly large amount of violence and collateral damage. Frieza's family believed the strong ruled. Gohan was going to fight to prove the weak had rights...so long as someone stronger than the strong defended that.

Circular logic, but whatever helped the brat sleep at night.

Thoughts came back to present as a beeping in front of him signaled that the gravity room had powered down, which meant that the brat was finished. A slight hissing echoed as the door opened, and Vegeta stepped across the threshold into the large room in front of him. Gohan was still finishing up some stretches, much to his usual annoyance.

"Brat. I thought we decided that you could do your stretches outside of the gravity chamber?"

Gohan looked up at him, an inquisitive look on his face. "Yeah, I know. But I figured getting in your way would be the best way to get some answers from you."

Vegeta scowled. "More like a good way to get yourself turned into a pancake when I turn this machine on. Out with it before I decide you're more annoying than useful."

Gohan chuckled, prompting Vegeta to suppress his own. The brat thought they were getting buddy buddy, which worked out well for his intentions.

"Who exactly was that woman?"

Vegeta crossed his arms and smirked characteristically. "Not as bright as you like to think, eh brat? That was the overseer of this particular section of the late Frieza's empire. Seeing as how the death of himself and his entire upper chain of command vanishing didn't so much as cause a ripple here, I think that should tell you something."

Gohan nodded slowly. "So why did we stop there, exactly?"

Vegeta walked forwards and started setting his gravity to where he wanted it. "I needed to get her measure and see if I was going to have to make sure this region stayed the way I want it too...for now."

Gohan stood, finishing his stretches out. "She seemed..." He stopped, obviously pondering for a moment. "Adequate, to me. Intelligent and attractive and good at playing people."

Another smirk from the prince as he turned the machine on. Brat was now apparently trying to sound like him. "Sounds like someone's got a crush. Whatever, it's your laundry." Another button. "You've got about half a second before you get locked in, by the way."

A small yelp was Gohan's response as he suddenly wasn't in the room any longer.

-0000000000000-

Another few weeks passed by with little in the respect of interesting events. At present, Vegeta was stepping through the port of the ship onto a ramp leading down to a planets surface. They had just recently docked in order to restock on food and fuel, and Vegeta had decided that they could use a little time outside of the confinement of the ship while they had the chance. They were also within a few days of Kold's location, so the shit would soon be hitting the proverbial fan.

He looked down at himself in annoyance for the tenth time, as the least revolting casual shirt he had found being a particularly sickening color known as "pink" with the words bad ass writing on it. While he agreed with the sentiment, the color seemed somewhat contradictory as the majority of "pink" that he had seen had been various pairs of the woman's undergarments.

Behind him, Gohan was standing awkwardly in a bight green, blue and other random assortment of colors in the shape of trees, beaches and water in the form of a button up shirt. "Tropical", apparently.

"Vegeta, why do we have to wear these?" His voice was clearly annoyed, and Vegeta suspected he was getting used to the battle suits.

"This planet is considered a "neutral" grounds. No signs of violence, meaning weapons or uniforms, can be worn here. It survives in Kold space because the planet amuses him... It's said he has a mistress or two located around here somewhere."

A slight whining noise sounded behind it.

"Shut it, brat. I don't like it any more than you do. I thought you packed clothes when you left?"

"You vaporized them."

Vegeta thought back and chuckled. "Oh. Right. Well, suck it up and follow me."

Another grumble, but he heard footsteps falling in place behind him as he ventured forth.

As they crossed through the port, a large blue sky and lush green fields surrounded them. They had landed on an elevated steel platform that was shielded by kinetic barriers, protecting the grass and trees along the sides from the harsh landings. Before them the platform extended down onto a cobblestone path which led forwards and around the corner into what resembled a small city. Buildings no higher than three stories stood around, made of various kinds of brick and stone. Odd as it was, everything one traveling in space might need was sold here, despite Earth being the only planet to posses capsule technology.

Far in the distance, however, a massive city made of towering glass buildings and pathways stood, the capitol and primary space center. From the city, all of the pleasant "scenic" ports and cities could be observed.

But, his presence would be more readily noticed in the main port, which is why he had chosen one out of the way. None would suspect why he was here, but the fact he was so far out of place would throw up some flags.

Getting the ship resupplied was easy. Vegeta stopped at the bottom of the platform and accessed a console, typing in what he needed. Below the ship, part of the platform parted, allowing a pair of glass tubes to extend up from the network that criss-crossed the planet underneath and dock with his fuel pipe and the door to the ship, directed by controllers unseen. After a few moments, robots began shuttling the food on as fuel pumped up and in.

Vegeta finished placing the orders, and without so much as a motion towards the brat started forwards. He followed the path around and under an overhead arch into the city proper. The reception here was much different than the station. Peoples faces were friendly, and there wasn't so much as an ounce of fear or anger directed towards him.

"I take it you've never been here before?" Gohan asked from behind, observant as usual.

"Of course I've been to this planet, brat. Just not to this particular port. There is a reason we landed here rather than the capital in the distance."

Vegeta spotted what he was looking for, and gestured Gohan to follow him as he took a seat at a booth resting outside of what looked to be a small resturant. The demi-saiya-jin followed quickly after, looking slightly like a lost puppy trying to keep up.

Vegeta chuckled. Any lost puppy with half a brain would know better than to follow the Saiya-jin prince.

Gohan looked at him curiously and his chuckle died, turning quickly into a scowl. The brat was spared a brow beating by the quick arrival of a waiter.

The creature was green with purple spots, with a somewhat elongated appearance. Vegeta was fairly certain that he was a non-combatant of the worthless Kiwi's species.

"My names Jorobu and I'll be your server today. Would you like to see a menu?" It asked, in a polite tone.

"No. That won't be needed. Just get us two Kalthasian blues." Vegeta's reply was in his usual gruff, harsh tone which seemed to put the green thing at unease.

Regardless, it raised its eyebrows for a moment before shuffling off for the drinks when Vegeta began to glare.

"Kaltasan blues?" The brat, of course.

"Fruity sweet and sour drink from the Southern Galaxy."

"Vegeta..." Gohan looked genuinely nervous, looking away from him.

"What, Brat." More of a statement than a question.

He looked up, but still away. "You said we're only a few days from Ko...erm, our goal."

"And?" The prince had a fair idea of where this was going.

"We're not ready, Vegeta." Gohan said finally, looking him dead in the eye.

For his part, Vegeta laughed. Not just a chuckle, but a hard, long laugh.

"Brat. This isn't about winning or losing. This is about winning or losing."

Gohan looked at him incredulously. "That makes no sense Vegeta."

"It makes perfect sense brat. We're not going there to win or lose. We're going there to fight or die. Either I am the strongest, or I am not. Your father was weaker than me when he fought Frieza, and he still defeated him. If I can't achieve the Legend now, I may very well never do it."

Gohan actually had the nerve to glare at him. "This isn't about doing the right thing at all. This is about your damned pride and chasing after my father shadow."

"Brat. If you ever speak to me that way again, I'll string you from the nearest tree by your entrails." He growled darkly, but inside felt a flicker of pride. Before he had gotten his hands on the brat, he never would have spoken like that...even if it did remind him more of that woman than himself.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Asides. You're missing the bigger picture. It doesn't matter why I do what I do. All that matters is the end result. And in this case, you agree with that end result. So don't bother arguing."

Gohan was about to respond when the alien arrived back, placing their drinks on the table and then quickly scuttling off again.

Vegeta lifted his glass as he leaned back in his chair and relaxed, tilting the liquid back and allowing it to slowly flow into his mouth and down his throat, the sweet and sour stimulated his tongue even as a different taste lightly burned.

He heard the brat almost choke and looked down towards him.

"Problems baka?"

Gohan was holding the drink in front of him, looking at it like it had just killed his best friend, an very questioning look on his face. "What -is- this Vegeta?"

"You've never had booze before Brat?" He smirked.

Gohan's eyes lit up in shock. "Alcohol Vegeta?"

"Unless your dustball calls it something different, then yes."

"Vegeta, I just turned 6!"

"Brat. You've seen things and been in battles that would make most grown men soil themselves. The weight of your entire planet has been on your shoulders on several occasions. Whatever ridiculous age limits your planet has stopped applying to you from the day your uncle landed."

Vegeta suddenly stopped, a slight smile coming to his face as he realized something. It quickly faded. "At any rate, just enjoy your drink."

-0000000000000-

"Vegey-ta." Gohan said whimsically, as he tripped over the threshold of the ship, stumbling into the back of the princes leg, wrapping himself around it for stablity.

Vegeta, for his part vocally expressed his displeasure with a well place explicative before stepping through with the brat literally hanging from his leg. Once inside the ship proper, he kicked out and sent the Demi flying forwards and crashing into a wall. The response he was awarded? Laughter.

Knowing he would get no peace with a drunk five year old running through the ship giggling its head off, Vegeta picked him up by the scruff of his neck and carried the brat to his quarters, once more tossing him through a room and watching him sprawl in his bed contently after ricocheting off the wall.

"I'm locking you in here until the morning. Try not to break anything." He turned to close the door pausing for a moment. "And before you come to bitch to me in the morning because your head is pounding, drink some water and leave me the hell alone."

"Vegeta?" Gohan's voice was quite, and the prince hesitated a moment, looking behind him. Gohan was still sprawled out, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"What, brat?"

"Thanks." Sincerity if Vegeta had ever heard it.

"What in the nine hells are you thanking me for?" Vegeta growled softly.

"Daddy is dead, and mommy withdrew from me when she found out." Language the he didn't normally use, the alcohol stripping him back to the six year old child he really was. "The way she always looked at me when she saw me, like she blamed me." Tears spilled from his eyes slowly.

Even Vegeta, with his cold as ice heart, felt something colder still creeping through him. "Brat." He said softly, rethinking it for a moment. "Gohan." He settled on. "You're just too much like your father. Seeing you reminds your mother of what she's lost, and in her grief she couldn't see what she still had."

With that he stepped out of the room and locked it, cursing under his breath as he looked up at nothing in particular. "You weak fool. Strong enough to defeat Freiza, but not strong enough to save your son." In his own mind, images of the woman and his own unborn son flashed through his mind.


	6. Phenomenon

Gohan was getting desperate, and a little irritated.

Every blow that he had thrown, Vegeta had effortlessly blocked. Gohan knew he never had a chance, but Vegeta always used their spars to teach him something, and he almost always managed to land a few hits here and there even if they did little. But this time was different.

A right hook from the prince. He twisted around, using his left forarm to parry the blow and brough his right arm from low upwards to the prince's gut. Vegeta caught the blow with his free arm and before Gohan could react, the deflected hook opened and grabbed that arm as well. Over powered by the prince's superior strength, Gohan was forced to his knees before Vegeta slammed him in the face with his own knee twice, spilling blood. Gohan felt his arms released and quickly jumped back. He wasn't quick enough and caught Vegeta's spandex foot to his face.

He crashed to the ground and rolled to a stop on one knee, panting and breathing heavily, dripping blood from several wounds. They had been at it for nearly fifteen minutes and it had been growing progressively worse for him from the start.

All the while, Vegeta stared at him. No snide comments, no look of emotion on his face. It wasn't that he was looking for, or even hoping for, approval. Anger, disappointment, any of these things were familiar, normal. But this nothingness as Vegeta thrashed him without effort, the complete lack of silence outside of his own heavy breathing... it was driving him insane.

He gathered his ki to its highest and sprung forwards, rushing Vegeta and closing the distance in a flash. All that earned him, however, was extra momentum as Vegeta grabbed him by his hair and twisted around adding extra force to his charge and sending him crashing into the bulkhead. There was a slight flicker as the bulkhead crumpled slightly, possibly damaging some electronics, and suddenly the gravity intensified by about 5x.

Gohan buckled under the force, collapsing once more as he recoiled, and as his eyes raised to Vegeta once more he was met by that same cold stare. Something in him clicked.

The weight suddenly left him as he stood, rushing for once more. This time, though, Vegeta's arms didn't come up in time. Gohan jumped up, slamming the prince across the face with a blow containing enough force to even make him stager back half a step, a little trickle of blood coming from his mouth. Twisting around, Gohan followed up by spinning around mid air to roundhouse kick him, but felt the blow make contact with a rock solid forearm instead.

Vegeta's free right hand shot up, gripping the blocked leg, and once again he twisted around and tossed Gohan sending him crashing into the bulkhead once more. Again, it crumpled slightly, lights flicked, and the gravity went up a noticeable amount crushing him to his knees from the shock. Even Vegeta seemed to be struggling with it.

But his eyes, the same dispassionate look, no words despite Gohan landing a hit.

Before he could struggle to his feet and charge again, Vegeta held up a hand and unleashed a torrent of yellow energy. It rushed around Gohan and the force of its flow crushed him against the ground. He let out a scream as it ate at his flesh and destroyed his clothing. He was being cooked, slowly evaporated. Vegeta wasn't outright killing him, but was unleashing just enough power to trap and slowly obliterate him.

Suddenly, as his vision began to go dark it suddenly went red and then white. He felt an explosion of power and then vision faded completely.

-00000000000000000000-

His eyes fluttered in, taking in the scene before him. Panels and electronics were destroyed, pieces and parts laying everywhere. The walls were nearly destroy just barely holding together, and the door was blown off completely. The central console and gravity device itself had been outright obliterated, and laying against the back wall, surrounded by massive scorch marks was Vegeta. He was covered in wounds, and debris pinned him to the floor.

Gohan ran forwards and let out a yelp of pain, looking down to see his left leg with a scattering of 3rd degree burns and the knee cap twisted in the wrong direction. As he reached Vegeta and reached down to move the rubble he realised that his left arm was hanging uselessly at his side. He might have won, but the Prince had made him pay dearly for it.

His slight tweak of pride was shattered as he uncovered Vegeta's broken body. Despite the burns, bruises and bleeding, he was all to aware of the fist sized hole punched through the center of his chest. Gohan let out a small scream and reached down to check for a pulse.

By some miracle, Vegeta was still alive. Try as he might though, Gohan knew he didn't have the strength to lift the prince nor did he know where he kept his Senzu. Growling in frustration and desperation, he grabbed the prince's arm and dragged him through the ship.

A trail of blood was left behind, a red stain leading from the gravity room to the nearby healing chamber. His shaky hand was barely able to activate the machine, and he struggled to get Vegeta in. It was easy, by comparison, to place himself in the other one.

-00000000000000000000-

Eyes fluttered open to gaze through translucent green, a world of gray and silver altered by the more pleasant tint. A flow of capture air drifted up and across his face from under the mask strapped over his face, and he found himself idly curious before memories of what had happened earlier came flooding back into his mind. An ring echoed in his head and through the chamber as the liquid quickly drained around him and the doors wretched open.

Unsteady feet met cold unforgiving steel and a slight curse slipped his lips as he treaded to his locker a short distance away to retrieve a new battle suit. Blue spandex and white armor pieces fit snuggly and familiarly over him and a small sense of comfort was found within its tight embrace.

Thoughts were dismissively brushed aside as he turned himself to face the other tube, slightly shocked to see it unoccupied. Foot steps behind him returned him to his original facing, bringing him face to face with what he was looking for.

"I see you're better, Vegeta." Gohan said, the releif showing clearly despite his attempt at a stoic demeanor.

"You too, brat." The price retorted, pushing past him and towards the kitchen.

"Sorry, Vegeta." The boys voice sounded through the hall.

"For what, brat. You did exactly what I wanted you to do." No laugh, just the blanket statement.

"...What?" Footsteps sounded as he chased after.

"I needed to see how strong you were. If you could master that childishly impulsive power of yours, you're stronger than I am, much as it loathes me to admit it."

"I...was stronger than you?"

"Don't let it go to your head brat, only by a bit, and even at that you caught me off guard." Vegeta cast a gaze back towards him. "But...I think you were just scratching the surface of what's sleeping inside you. You're already nearly half as powerful as me anyways. I remember the kind of power you couldn't output when enraged when I first met you. It was certainly more than double."

They were quite for awhile after that, Vegeta and Gohan setting across from each other.

"Oh...Vegeta?"

"Yes, brat."

"...Why do we have tails?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow towards Gohan, and then looked down at himself. After scrutinizing the fact that he was, in deed, once again in possession of a tail he glanced back at Gohan. "Guess it worked."

"...what worked, Vegeta?"

He chuckled. "Tell me brat, if we went up against Frieza as we are right now, how would we do?"

Gohan shrugged in a very Vegeta like manor. "We'd lose. We'd put up a much better fight, but he'd still trash us with no real contest."

Vegeta nodded. "And, if that's true, what about his father who's older and able to keep both of his brats under control?"

Another shrug. "I'd imagine he's at least a little stronger, so we'd get killed."

"And how far away is Kold?"

Gohan tapped his chin. "We were out for about a day, so..an hour?"

Vegeta smirked. "Right. Which is why I picked up some Saiya-jin DNA from the space station we first stopped at. Mixed a bit in the tank, and we got lucky."

Gohan blinked. "That's...brillant, Vegeta."

"A bit. The catch being, they didn't actually have any Saiya-jin DNA. They had something that could mimic it, but any healing effects it has will be short lived. And..." He paused. "Impossible to replicate, seeing as I blasted the man who invented it many years ago."

Gohan looked incredulously at him. "Why?"

"He looked at me wrong? I'm not here to explain myself to you brat. Long story short, I didn't know he'd ever be particularly useful to me. I was wrong. There's a first time for everything."

A roll of the eyes from Gohan, then an odd look as something occurred to him. "You said this was do or die, Vegeta. I thought you were going to try and force a transformation here or die trying?"

Vegeta gazed at him darkly. "I am, brat."

Gohan thought about it for a minute, and then another. His brow twisted in slight frustration as he tried to use the intelligence that his mother had crammed into him and the cunning Piccolo had almost literally beat into his head.

Finally, he said "My father gave everything he had, pulled every trick and ability that he had out of his belt. He fought harder than he ever had in his entirely life and even above and beyond his own limits. He was at the brink of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion when he finally broke the barrier. If you want to maximize your chances, you have to mimic those circumstances."

He tapped his chin for a second. "He's older, more mature and has been running an empire for a long, long time. To me, that says Kold wouldn't be one to toy around. If you didn't have some way of evening out the power gap you wouldn't last long enough to push yourself to those limits."

Vegeta smirked. "It would be nice if your moments of proving there's actually something rattling around up there didn't come so infrequently. But yes, that's the gist of the situation."

Another pause from Gohan. "My father transformed because someone he cared about, at that moment of complete exhaustion, was killed right in front of him."

Vegeta nodded.

"If you're recreating the situation...Vegeta, do you plan on me dying?"

Another shrug. "That's up for you to decide, brat. It's your life."

He stood and left Gohan to the dishes and his thoughts then, the unsaid message hanging in the air that Vegeta had to have formed some kind of bond with Gohan if he thought that his death would give him the boost he needed to transform


	7. All These Things I Hate

"Looks like we're finally here." Gohan stated, looking out the front port of the ship at the large Cruiser looming ahead.

"Yeah." Vegeta was somber, standing tense with his arms at his side, his own eyes locked on their destination.

Gohan turned his head to look at Vegeta. "So, what's our game plan?"

Vegeta chuckled. "We're going to take a shuttle over, see Kold, and swear our allegiance."

Gohan's eyes shot wide. "What?"

Vegeta shook his head. "Shut up, brat. While his guard is down, we're going to strike. He can breath in space, we have to knock his lizard ass to the planet below."

"Oh...right." Gohan nodded and turned back to look forwards. "And I guess, since everyone that was on Namek is dead, Kold won't have any idea what transpired."

Vegeta nodded once. "Right. He'll be suspicious, don't get me wrong, but his pride will blind him from even considering that we played a hand in his sons defeat. It helps, of course, that I got a summons when I entered his space."

"Vegeta. Um..." Gohan looked sheepish.

"What?" The prince scowled towards him.

"What if I can' control my Oozaru?"

Vegeta looked sternly at him. "You damned well better. No, you'll be fine. The Namek's forced you to do mental training. The conditioning should hold up." He trailed off, before turning around and walking away. "Alright brat, let's go. It's now or later, and I'm not a patient man."

-000000000000000000-

Boots on hard steel, unforgiving echoes through the course of the ship. Soldiers running every which way through the hall, pausing only to give a brief glance in their direction before returning to their initial path. The course that they should take was laid clear by the presence of a patterned layout of proper guards, and the two souls amongst a sea of secret enemies found their way to the heart of the beast.

Aloft high, seated on a throne of what seemed to be carved and molded from the twisted bones of the fallen, was a creature of massive proportion. Making his lost son's largest form seem almost small, the creatures stature was such as to cast a shadow through the large throne room, his presence monstrous. Exchanging glances, both of them were of the same thought hoping that this was the extent of his being rather than a cocoon as the prodigals' was.

The prince took the lead, swiftly moving in and dropping to one knee while the youth held back a half step observing the way the creature held his head idly in one hand, lazily sipping something resembling blood or wine from the other. Half step pause come and gone, he was on his knees a touch behind the prince a moment later.

"Ah. The Saiya-jin prince. I see that you are indeed still alive. Tell me Vegeta, why did you take so long to return? Did you think to abandon the empire? That I wouldn't find you?" His voice was deep, idle but with cold intent behind it, clear with the presence of lingering death.

"Of course not, my Lord." Vegeta said cleanly, no hint of his intentions. "I returned because I knew that it was inevitable."

"Oh, Vegeta? You returned out of fear?" A smile in his voice.

A slight nod of Vegeta's head. "Of course. You're reptilian family will never have my love, but fear is far better anyways."

A change in the creatures position was felt by them, as a dark presence was suddenly present in the entrance to the room behind them. Dark, and not quite as powerful, but somehow familiar none the less.

"My my." Said the voice scathingly. "You never got on your knees for me willingly. You should feel special, father."

Vegeta visibly tensed, his hair noticeably standing on end, time slowed to a crawl.

Vegeta's gaze shot to Gohan, an intense look flaring through them as Gohan realized who it was behind them. Ki flared in front and behind them, while at the same time Vegeta's power skyrocketed to his max in almost an instant with Gohan following suit.

Torrents of raw energy flared to life, like the red glow and heat of hell itself filling the room. But a brilliant ice blue was a moment faster, and in a flash the ship was obliterated. World scattered and senses blinded, their reality was reduced to the desensitizing cold of space. Rough metal in a field surrounding them, light from the sun and reflections from the moon glinting in every direction rendering sight useless.

'Still alive, brat?' Vegeta asked by pulsing his Ki in a language that they had developed, unique to them.

'Yeah. Holding my breath. What do we do now?' Gohan's Ki was stable and mostly full. Vegeta's blast hadn't been powerful compared to the levels they trained at. The only purpose had been to destroy the ship. Frieza still alive...there was no way they could have planned for that.

'Suck it up brat.' Was the response. 'They're going to get annoyed and obliterate this field soon.'

'Oozaru?' Gohan let himself drift to the edge of the field, so that he could cast his gaze on the moon.

'Oozaru.' Vegeta sounded his agreement. 'Blow them to the planet before they can react. Get ready. The real fight starts then.

Fur sprouted as their bodies grew to gargantuan proportions, making even Kold look small by comparison. Their armor stretched and expanded, cladding their new bodies easily. Energy bristled through their fur as they unleashed a river of power from their gaping maws, lighting up the field with energy and vaporizing everything that remained. The blasts continued forwards and through the atmosphere of the planet.

Moments later to domes of explosions lit up on the planets surface, and the two beasts rocketed down to follow.

Vegeta was the faster, taking an imidiate lead and leaving some distance between them Gohan began falling behind, his senses reaching out even as the battle began a few minutes ahead of him. Explosions scattered the landscape, one after another, and a mixtures of beastial and more human screams lit up the ambiance almost as much as he got closer. Vegeta's power flickered, but held its own. Gohan felt a shiver down his spine from its crushing weight, almost the exact equals of what Kold had been and a portion stronger than Frieza.

Power equal, Vegeta had two massive drawbacks, and as he arrived he saw them being taken advantage of in earnest. The first that was Vegeta was a much larger, slower target. But, even if he had been normal size fighting an opponent his equal and one near their strength would have been a loosing fight. The gap between his and Frieza's power wasn't so large as to render his attacks ineffective.

Gohan could tell as he drew closer that the Ice-jin had gotten some upgrades. Mechanical parts littered parts of him, melding physical flesh and cyborg robotics.

As Gohan landed, he watched the prince's massive right fist swing backwards into Kold who was flying towards him, sending him spiraling out of control and crashing into the terrain behind them. Frieza took advantage of the opening and shot forwards, drilling Vegeta in the forehead with a large blast, causing a spray of blood and fur.

The glow of the beasts eyes intensified as his fist shot forwards. The tyrant tried to dodge, his speed failing him as Vegeta's grip closed around here. A moment later he was being slammed into the ground repeatedly, unable to escape Vegeta's merciless rampage.

"I despaired when I learned that 3rd class fool managed to best you." He roared. "But now I'll truly humiliate you. Your death won't come at the hands of the Legendary, but rather the power of an ordinary Saiya-jin!"

Vegeta's maw opened, energy gathering within its massive gape. Distracted by his rage and blood lust, the gathering energy went unnoticed. Gohan gathered his own strength and flew forwards as quickly as he could, unsure of the good he could do here. Even with his Oozaru strength, he was still near half their strength.

Kold burst from the rubble he had spiraled into, shape different than Gohan had seen him on the ship. An armor like exoskeleton plated him, a mask of bone covering his face and protrusions and his elbows, legs and shoulders. The look was frightening, and strongly reminded Gohan of an earth Samurai, and almost half again his original size.

He placed his giant body between Kold and Vegeta and settled into a fighting stance, raising his left forearm in front of him to block the incoming attack. He sensed it before his other senses picked it up, the power radiating from Kold dwarfing even the Prince was behind him, and his own power took a drastic drop, as he felt a explosion behind him and felt Frieza's Ki vanish.

Blood sprayed from his left shoulder as he watched his massive arm crash to the ground below, and a moment later another spray of blood and his tail fell to land beside it. His world went numb and grey as he felt his power failing, as his form shifted back to natural.

As the gravity of the planet pulled him to its harsh embrace, he twisted in the air, watching and hearing Vegeta roar in anger as he turned from Frieza's chard body. "BRAT!"


	8. Tears Don't Fall

Vegeta's massive fist shot forwards, meeting Kold's raised arm. The beasts fist slammed against it like hitting an immovable object and stopped dead, blood spraying from the Prince's fist as all the momentum was seemingly directed to it.

"You can stop this, you know." A voice spoke within Gohan's hazy mind.

The Prince's arm withdrew, though not quick enough. Gohan couldn't follow his movements, but there was another spray of blood and Vegeta's fist dropped from his extended limb.

"How?" Was his desperate call to whoever was in his head.

An explosion ripped between the beast and Kold, the force of which sent Gohan flying away, twisting and slamming against the ground before finding a sheer rock face to break his momentum. His life's blood shot from his mouth as he felt his organs strain from the impact. His vision went dark as the pain caused him to black out.

"By letting me out again." The voice replied calmly.

"What are you?" He wondered allowed.

"I'm what takes over when your hurt, scared and half dead. When the rage inside of you boils away your compassion, there you'll find me." It answered with a laugh.

"Why don't you just come out like normal then?" He screamed.

"Because I want you to call on me willingly this time, to stop suppressing me and embrace what you are."

"No." Gohan mouthed, shaking his head. "I want your power, I want to control it and use it to protect everyone!"

"Come now." It cooed. "Protect who? The legacy of the father that left you? The mother that abandoned you? What is worth protecting?"

He began to cry in the darkness of his mind. "Mr. Piccolo, Vegeta."

It chuckled. "Piccolo knew that he would always lag behind your father. What greater victory over someone that would always be his better than to make the son that would surpass him your own?"

Gohan shook his head. "No. Mr. Piccolo isn't..."

The voice cut him off. "And the noble Saiya-jin prince. Willing to sacrifice you to achieve his goal. He's just using you Gohan. If you survive here, he'll continued to find uses for you."

"I know that." Gohan admitted. "And I came anyways. Vegeta is changing though, slowly."

He could feel a pitying gaze on him. "Believe that, little tool." Gohan spied a flicker of Gold out of the corner of his eye.

"It's what I believe." Gohan spat, feeling himself beginning to come to, finding himself half buried in rock. In the distance he could see that Vegeta had reverted, and was on a knee hemorrhaging blood before Kold.

Within his minds eye his hand shot forwards and gripped hold of the spark that had glinted earlier. "And this is my body, MY POWER!" He roared, pulling it into himself. He could fill it racing through his body, his muscles tightening and toning, his hair standing on end from the power. Golden aura exploded around him and vaporized the rocks and earth around him, leaving him hovering over a crater. More practically, the explosion of power seared his open wounds closed. Without looking, Gohan knew he possessed the characteristic golden hair and teal eyes of the Legend.

Golden energy gathered around him and he shot forwards, closing in on Kold. The Ice-jin's hand was striking forwards, energy gathered around it to put an end to the fallen Saiya-jin Prince as Gohan reached him. With effortless grace, he twisted around the monsters arm and gripped it, flipping over in midair to use power and surprise to throw him away.

Vegeta gazed up at him, one eye swollen shut and the other bleeding, looks of surprise, regret, pride and anger all flashing through them at once. A moment later, Vegeta was out of his sight as Gohan went after Kold.

The tyrant was already back on his feet and blocked the child's blow by gripping by crossing his arms in front of him. Gohan rebounded off and flipped over them, bringing his food down across Kolds armored head and knocking him to his knee before twisting around him upside down.

"MASENKO" He cried gathering his golden energy in his sole arm. "HA!"

The golden blast crashed against Kold and swallowed him within its river of flow, carrying him high into the air where it exploded, shaking the very earth around them.

Even as the blast subsided, Gohan was already flying through the smoke and not letting up his assault. Feeling Kold's ki he carried his momentum into a driving kick and sent him flying out of choking cloud. His follow up punch was blocked by Kold, and both of his arms locked around the child's lone one as they struggled for domince.

But to Gohan's horror, despite some scratches, burns and part of his mask being broken off, Kold's energy wasn't much lower than when he had started his assault.

"So this is a Super Saiya-jin." The monstrous Ice-jin mused. "Yes. I can see how Frieza was bested by one of you on Namek. A pity I make him look like the child he is, that I make you look weak even without being as damaged as you are."

'It's not enough!' Gohan's mind raced. He was too battered, and too much of his power was being held back from him.

He shifted his grip on Kold's arms and shot his foot up towards his chest. It collided with massive force, but the tyrant wasn't moved. His eyes shown with amusement as he pulled back a Ki enhanced fist and slammed it into Gohan's gut, sending him rocketing into the ground below. Once more the ground shook from the crash, dirt and debris kicked up in a storm from the crater created.

'Should have struck a deal.' Said the voice in his mind. 'Too late now. Even with all you're power, there isn't enough left to save you.'

'Save us, you mean.' Gohan spat as he pushed off from the wall of the crater to make his last stand, feeling his knees buckle and give even as his hair lost its buyancy and returned to its normal black as he fell backwards against its wall. He struggled to rise, but it was no use. It took everything he had to watch the looming figure lower towards him.

About 20 meters away, Kold stopped and raised his arm, red energy growing into a concentrated ball of destruction. "Goodbye, Saiya-jin trash." The ball exploded into a beam, and Gohan realized it was meant to not only obliterate him but the planet below him.

He closed his eyes and waited for certain destruction, feeling the overwhelming power crushing against him. Suddenly, a familiar warmth flooded over him, and his eyes cracked back open to see the red death rocketing into the sky away from him. Above him stood a blue clad man, with an up swept golden flame for hair. To Gohan's eyes, Vegeta looked like an avenging angle ready to unleash his wrath.

He turned his head partially towards Gohan. "Enough, brat." He growled, and then he was gone and in the air, blasting towards Kold.

The Tyrant rained several more similar blasts towards the oncoming Vegeta, but each was as easily deflected as the first. Once reaching the monster, Vegeta's fist was instantly burried in his stomach causing him to double over.

"KOLD!" He roared, gripping the sides of his head and digging his fingers into his targets neck. Armor cracked almost effortlessly and blood sprayed under the pressure. "I HEARBY REMOVE YOUR FAMILY FROM POWER" he flipped his feat forwards and braced the against the emperors massive shoulders, pulling with all his strength. Blood continued to spray more freely as skin, sinew and muscle began to stretch and tear. "BY CUTTING OFF THE HEAD OF THE BEAST" and with a sickening crunch he did just that. The massive body of the former tyrant plummeted to the ground and crashed as Vegeta laughed while his prize before him.

A few seconds later Vegeta landed beside him once more.

"But, h-how." Gohan managed, sputtering blood.

"Senzu, brat." He growled, forcing one into Gohan's mouth. A few moments later he felt all the weight and wounds from the battle fade away, and his arm pop back into place, a twisting of bone, muscle and flesh twisting around themselves to recreate the structure of his arm. Even through magical healing, it was not a painless experience, though he was greatful for the end result.

Gohan shook his head as he pushed off from the wall and took a few shaky steps forwards. "But, when did you turn?"

"While you were dead." He said simply, turning to leave.

"I was dead?"

"For a few minutes, yes." He could feel Vegeta scowl. "I guess the power sleeping in you wouldn't let you die just yet."

"How did Kold beat you?" He raced to catch up with the Prince.

Vegeta shrugged. "I was too weakened from the earlier battle, and he wouldn't have let me eat a Senzu."

A slight smirk came to Gohan's mouth, and Vegeta either sensed it or knew him too well at this part. "Yes, brat. This is the part where I say I couldn't do it without you. Guess you don't own me quite as much as you did before." He trailed off, and Gohan knew the prince had a smirk of his own. "I just saved your ass too. Guess you do."

Ahead of them their ship loomed untouched somehow out of orbit, offering promise of much needed rest.


	9. Forever and Always

(Note: Appologies for the delay. I intend to update regularly from now on. Hopefully I still have some people following and reading this. Anyhow, please read / Review and on with the story!)

It's a torrent of affairs, one thing after the next, life keeping a pace that's relevant to itself

and secret to those that are actually involved, though Gohan couldn't help but think over the events that had developed, that had let up to the events that they had dealt with, that his life had become. His Father had been an Alien sent to wipe out the planet, and had bumped his head to become a mostly ordinary, albeit abnormally strong child.

He learned about the dragon balls and fought a short guy with a Napoleon complex as part of helping his new friends. Then an army that wanted to conquer the world... and then another Alien that wanted to kill all the martial artists and -then- take over the world... and then finally, in his fathers youth, a grudge match against the veritable child / reincarnation of that same foe.

A small serious of revelations, his fathers death and revival...Raditz marked the shifting of the focus of their lives from fights over the rights of a single planet to the survival of the race and planet as a whole that became the stakes. Even then though, it was the death of Piccolo that drove them to Namek, not some desire to protect people, and once there Frieza was found to be waiting, further driving the stakes up from a single planet to the life and well being of countless worlds.

Every step of his fathers life was a continuing escalation of stakes, of more and more being on the line and more and more power being wielded on each side...and as much as it pained him to admit it, Gohan hoped that the endless escalation ended with his father's death. Now that he was gone, perhaps this was the end of things, because he had the feeling that had his father lived, something even worse than Frieza would show it's head, and something even larger would be at stake. What was worse, though, that being pawns, slaves and trash to a galactic empire? Perhaps something that threatened the Universe as a whole.

Unfortunately, he had the sickening feeling that as his father's son, he would inherit the pattern of development that had been the story of his father's life. But thing were also different, so very different, than had his father been alive. He could feel the weight on his shoulders, the threats that were to come that wouldn't have been his responsibility. He was certain that he would have helped with whatever it was, but now he felt as though the galaxy was literally his to protect.

"Brat. I asked you a question. I expect you to answer quickly." He heard Vegeta snap, drawing his attention back out from his thoughts. Their ship had survived...well, had survived well enough to get them to a station, at any rate.

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with this Vegeta. Does Earth have to be a part of your empire?" Was the response, though Gohan already knew the answer, but felt the need to vocalize his concerns.

Gohan felt the sudden woosh of air as the fabric of his suit was pulled tight near his neck and he was jerked into the air to look into Vegeta's eyes at an even level...not that he had to be pulled far off the ground, he thought to himself with some small amusement.

"Every planet IS part of my empire, even if they don't know it yet, even if it's as miserable as the chunk of wasted rock you call home. The only reason I'm even allowing it to mar my empire with it's presence rather than blasting it to oblivion is because I'm growing soft and I feel as though I owe you some small gesture for being such a loyal minion."

Finished with his tirade, Gohan could feel the prince's muscles tighten and a second later the force of the metal wall of the gravity chamber meeting against his back, though barely enough force to knock the wind out of him.

"I understand, Vegeta." He said reluctantly as he rose to a knee and bowed his head. "Then on behalf of the Earth, I swear it's allegiance to you. As to your question, I would want to delegate the task of assimilating the world into said empire to Bulma. The company that she controls is the single largest in the world, and has considerable political power. Coupled with her familiarity of the universe as a whole and us in particular, it would be the best bet. Having studied the galactic maps as you asked me too, Earth technically falls under Zaula's net, does it not?"

Vegeta crossed his arms and pondered, clearly debating upon the idea. "Yes. That would be for the best, if the woman has dragged herself out of the gutter that she put herself in. And no, Earth isn't under Zaula's net, as you say. Earth is part of what's effectively uncharted territory...though I suppose there are worse things to do with it then adding it to Zaula's list of responsibilities. Bitch already has a full load of intel on it, so likely she's planning on it anyways..."

He trailed off, a smirk spreading across his features. "But you knew that...why the interest, brat? Hoping to celebrate this victory with a good fuck?"

Gohan face went crimson. "Vegeta! I'm 7! Adolescence doesn't even start for a few years!"

The smirk remained. "Maybe for humans, but you're half Saiya-jin, half-breed. You've been going through adolescence since you were two. She'd certainly make a good first..."

Gohan looked away, face ready to burst. "No, no! I just think she's interesting and useful and..." He paused, mind thinking things through rationally. "Oh...I guess I do have a crush on her..."

This earned a genuine chuckle from the older Saiya-jin. "Well, I'll put Earth in her care so you have an excuse to drop in on her then...but you owe me, brat."

A slight nod from Gohan. He wasn't going to do anything, of course, but there were worse things than having an attractive, intelligent woman in his life... or that was the way that he realized that he was rationalizing the exchange. He doubted Vegeta was the man to instruct him in the ways of feelings and eventual romance.

--

It had been a few months since the fight, and still the massive floating head in the regeneration tank caused him a pause of some small worry as he walked by it. Vegeta had made sure to "hollow" it out, as was, to make sure there wasnt a repeat of what had happened with Frieza, but other than that he was quite intent upon keeping around his trophy, and Gohan understood the logic. No one would believe Vegeta had bested King Cold...until he tossed the head at their feet. At the moment, though, he was too busy putting said head in a capsule and rushing to the docking bay of the ship to give too much concern to the gruesome sight.

Feet clashed against metal in rapid succession, the hallway eventually opening up into a large room with a lowered ramp, Vegeta standing at the top, leading into the station that they had docked with. Standing at the bottom of the ramp, wearing a smirk that matched the Prince's own and staring up at the pair was a certain brown haired, copper eyed woman.

"Ahh, good of you to return, Vegeta."

Vegeta walked down the ramp, Gohan noticing for the first time that he was wearing a red cape and his cerimonial armor with the crest of Vegetasei rather than his usual battle armor.

"That's Prince Vegeta, to you, for now." He said as he walked by her with nothing resembling maners. "I trust that you have a room set up as I requested?"

She shrugged, giving Gohan a sweet smile as he ran passed her to fall in step behind Vegeta before her gaze returned to the back of Vegeta's head, a look of curiosity flickering through them. "Mm. And I trust that you took care of what you went to do?"

Vegeta didn't bother to answer, his presence back on the station confirming the question without her having to ask to begin with. He crossed the threshold of the station proper, Gohan noticing a brief look of amusement on his face as he glanced around and noticed that all the power detectors had been shut off. Probably for the better, Vegeta was likely to short out the entire station if they were not. Any semblance of hiding his power had been lost with the death of Kold.

The climate of the station proper was quite different than when they had last been here. A red carpet was laid out leading up to a raised stage, which itself had several sets of large lights pointing towards and the flag of Kold's empire plastered behind it. Large devices Gohan assumed to be Cameras were also pointed towards it, with at least 50 people running around managing various wires, color schemes and what Gohan assumed was a massive network of connections between this station and the known universe.

The prince wasted no time walking to the forefront of the stage, and giving a deathglare at all present that told them that they better have things ready in under two seconds or he was going to start vaporizing people. Lights quickly came to life, and Cameras began to role as Vegeta tilted his head back and crossed his arms over his chest, typical arrogant Vegeta shining through, magnified by his choice of attire to give him a legitimately royal bearing.

A tech gave Vegeta the thumbs up, and he began.

"Citizans and Slaves of the Kold empire." Vegeta began his address. "I am here to inform you that you have been freed from the tyrant's icy grasp through trial by combat." His voice was quite, solemn, and he paused for a moment to let the weight of his words sink in. "And that you now belong to me." The banner of Kold burned away in a sudden flash of flames, leaving Vegeta to be backed by the banner of Vegetasei. At the same time, he gave a nod to Gohan.

The young Saiya-jin flicked his wrist and there was a burst of smoke upon the stage. A moment later it cleared from a massive explosion of power. Vegeta stood in all his super saiya-jin glory, clutching the head of Kold by one of the horns.

"Just to illustrate the point, just in case any fools dared to challenge my claim." He lazily tossed the trophy over his shoulder where it crashed to the ground and rolled a short distance away. "Now that the pleasentries are over, though, there is buisness to be handled."

He gaze shifted monitor to monitor. "First and foremost, I expect every planet hearing this broadcast to swear their allegiance to me through your proper channels. The same goes for all forces that remain. Your service is now in my army. Further, all current operations are to be halted until I have a chance to look them over and" He tossed a glance to Gohan. "All purging is suspended until I decide otherwise. The process of exterminating a population and importing our own labor to extract resources is wasteful and fruitless."

The young half-breed noticed Zaula standing nearby, and approving look on her face. Internally, Gohan was glad that pointless slaughter was being stopped...even if it was for the pointless part of the phrase rather than the moral issue of the second word.

"On a similar note, to call out someone of particular note. Cooler, both your brother and father are dead at my hand. You would be foolish to attempt to challenge my rule, and if you attempt to hide from me I will see you slaughtered. However, I have been told that unlike your father and brother, your pride may play second to reason. Should you turn yourself into me, I can find a place for you in my empire."

Gohan looked quizzical, but reasoned it out. Cooler had access to a section of the Universe that was forign to all of their available intel and resources. If Vegeta offed Cooler, an easy feet, actually taking control of his section of the universe would essentially require re-conquering it planet by planet. By securing Cooler, he would gain a strong ally and a vast amount of resources.

"As to my last order of buisness." Gohan could feel Vegeta's gaze on him, clearly saying "Here, Now."

Gohan complied and did his best to stand tall and march onto the stage, kneeling before the Prince.

"You have be of...passing use in my rise to power, and beyond that, have proven yourself to be my most loyal and dedicated service, to say nothing of you being of Saiya-jin blood. Let my Empire recognize this: As I crown myself King, I crown this Saiya-jin, Son of Kakarot who himself is Son of Bardock, my Right Hand. In all matters, his opinion and athority is second only to my own. Further, I hearby recognize any family of his, to have existed or that will exist, with Saiya-jin blood, to be Elite First Class, and hands and protectors of the Saiya-jin royal family."

Gohan was shocked, mouth stood agape though thankfully hidden by having his back to the camera. He could tell that Vegeta's smirk had shifted to be specifically targeted at him, though no one else would notice. He never thought that the princes respect would matter so much to him, that the "honor" of a race he had just the vaugest ties to him would matter at all to his life, but now as he found himself in this position...he found himself filled with a level of pride that he couldn't describe.

"Yes, my lord." He said finally. "Once more I reaffirm and swear my life and allegiance to you, forever and always."


	10. Defy

(Too much too quick? Another chapter for you. I went back and edited the end of the fight with Kold to make it clear that Gohan did indeed regain his arm. Good to be back in the swing up things, hope you guys enjoy the chapter!)

A torrent of thoughts, a million different views, names and the smallest flickering of emotions rushed through his mind, obscuring reality as he fell to the embrace of sleep, the rushing of lights, lines composed of winking stars, the ambient reality that all so well reflected his inner mind.

Everything had been done, every goal had been accomplished. At his own hand, revenge had been dealt to the one that had destroyed his race, to the one that had dared to take him as a slave. By his own power, he had climbed to the pinnacle of power of the Saiya-jin race, claiming the Super Saiya-jin for his own.

By perseverance and strength he had surpassed any power that Kakarotto could have hoped to have while he was alive, and through his own brilliance he had twisted the mind of the fools child to be his own right hand, his Knight. Even by promoting the fools rank, he was showing his power over all Saiya-jins, even those that were dead.

What was there now, though? He had cast down all challenges. All adversity that had stood before him had been crushed and thrown into the wind to scatter into oblivion and obscurity. The galaxy was his plaything, with anyone that dared to oppose him now being nothing more than misguided fools. He had arrived at a point where everything belonged to him, by right of power, and nothing could stop him from doing whatever the hell he wanted.

But what did he want? Money? Worthless. More power? He essentially was all powerful. Women? As much as he was begrudged to say it, only one had ever truly interested him, and that was before she had fallen into her drunken, docile stupor. He wondered, idly, if the reason that Frieza hadn't gone outright crazy with boredom was due to the distraction that the "empire game" he played with his Brother and Father kept him entertained. Even in that regards, Vegeta had none to oppose him. Sure, Cooler might hold out, but even if he did, the fool would be easily crushed and tossed away with the rest of his family.

Vaguely, he wondered if perhaps he should actually try his hand at actively managing his empire before he dismissed it. He would not dirty his hands by sinking so low as to manage the day to day affairs. Such activities were left to peons like Zaula, or what may require less competence and more brawn, the Brat.

The brat...perhaps in him, salvation from boredom was to be found? He was gaining power rapidly, too rapidly, and if vegeta didn't struggle to stay on his toes would pass him extremely quickly. He gave it a year, tops, if he stopped training the half-breed would blow past him. Even at the current rate, it was a matter of time regardless of what he did.

Even so, the brat didn't offer a good option. For one, he would certainly pass him in strength. If Vegeta wanted to stop him, he would have to kill him now...which would leave him bored once more. He couldn't concider him a rival either, as unlike Kakarot there would be no give and take, back and forth of their powers dancing around each other. Once the brat passed him, he would keep going and there would be no catching back up. While the thought urked him quite a bit, it didn't as badly as it should, perhaps because Vegeta himself was playing the dominant role in shaping the power Gohan was developing, and the mentality that would wield it. The brat would be a sharper weapon than he was, but the weapon was becoming more and more firmly held within Vegeta's palm. Why should he be upset about something he owned become so strong?

Reality blurred back into existence as alarms shot to life throughout the ship, and as Vegeta shot from his chair to respond a sudden explosion rocked the ship and threw him the ground. A growl of rage escaped from him as he leapt back to his feet, eyes catching sight of land beyond the ports rather than the stars that should have greeted him.

This went ignored for the moment as he stormed down the hallway, mentally tracing the sudden power levels. He recognized one as Gohan in all his Super Saiya-jin glory, while the other was unfamiliar to him. Something about it was familiar to him though, and as he crossed to the threshold of the cargo room, he caught sight out of the hole that had been blown through the side of the ship of Gohan, arms locked with another golden haired fighter.

Confusion shot through him for a moment before he leapt through the hole, observing the fight and the powerlevels. Thus far, neither had noticed him as they were engrossed in the combat.

Back and forth they battled, trading kicks and blows. Gohan fought with a cross between composure and the ruthlessness, taking advantage of every opening that the opponent allowed. The mysterous Super Saiya-jins tactics were different, fighting on the defensive, looking for any opportunity to fight. One could tell a lot about someone from the way they fought, and this individual was used to being on the run, having to play defensive to even have a chance to survive. But the shocking thing was that as the battle went on, Gohan was losing. Every trade of blows left him a little weaker and the newcomer virtually unwinded. Gohan was the better fighter, but the sheer difference in power couldn't be overcome with skill alone.

The combat drew to an abrupt close as the newcomer knocked Gohan to the ground and glanced up, taking notice of Vegeta for the first time. A roar of rage escaped from his throat as his powerlevel shot up to a much higher level and dived forwards. Reflexively power exploded around Vegeta as his upswept hair of flame turned to gold, aura exploding into life around him.

The teenage opponent flipped to throw a diving kick at him, catching Vegeta offguard for a moment as the reserved, defensive style was thrown out the window as he switched to the offensive. There wasn't anything controlled about it though, a sheer beserk rage like one of Gohan's tantrums. What was more suprising was the power behind it, enough so that Vegeta found himself in disbelief. Either this person had been hiding quite a bit of his power, or he was a halfbreed, and Gohan's emotion related power was a trait off Human-Saiya-jin hybrids.

Regardless, the net result was that despite hastily raising his arms to block at the last second, Vegeta was shot backwards and through his own ship, tearing a new hole in the wall he entered in and an original hole in the back wall that he exited from. His body crashed into the ground on the other side once before a blast of ki flipped him into a controlled tumble and he caught himself on his right hand, twisting and spinging off of it to land a few feet away.

As his head came up, he found the teen only a small distance away and quickly closing in, having been right on his heels the entire time. Rather than defensively responding and trying to back away, it was Vegeta's turn to do something unexpected and step inwards and past the punch the teen through, arm shooting up and around his opponents neck, force suddenly wrenching down to crush the teens face into the ground below them.

Rock exploded and blood shot out from sudden cuts and scrapes, but as Vegeta prepared to slam his other hand into the back of his head the teen brought up one of his own hands and blasted Vegeta in the chest with a moderately powerful ki blast, sending him rocketing into the air before the blast detonated, tearing through and searing his body suit and obscuring his vision with smoke.

Body shifted easily to the side, senses picking up the follow up attack through the boy's screaming Ki signature, and Vegeta plowed his fist into the other Saiya-jins stomach causing him to double over in midair before slamming his fist in the back of his head to send him crashing into the ground below.

Strength and resilience showed through, however, as the boy was quickly up, pausing for a moment to catch his breath. Vegeta observed him more carefully now, taking in the shredded tanktop and jacket, but the most important aspect was the capsul corp. symbol that was still intact on his left sleeve.

"I made a miscalculation." The teen said with annoyance and fury and he looked up at Vegeta. "I thought that I would be strong enough to stop you here, but I was wrong." He looked around, a slight sigh escaping from him. "But regardless, you die here. Good bye, father!"

Power exploded to life around the boy as he pushed his power level higher and higher, taking more and more ki into his body. Vegeta realized what he was doing and dived forwards to stop him, but he was too far away. The distance wasn't closing fast enough, and in a few moments the entire planet would be gone, taking the three super Saiya-jins with it.

A moment before the detonation occurred, however, a sudden explosion of movement caught Vegeta's attention a few feet behind the teen and Gohans feet connected violently with the back of his head sending him crashing forwards and into the ground. Hair faded from gold to a lavender color as the impact knocked him unconscious.

Panting slightly from exerted effort, Vegeta awarded a slight, approving nod to his young Knight as he observed the boy laying on the ground. There was no denying the resemblance to either himself or the woman, but a number of questions would remain unanswered until the teen awoke. One thing was for certain though: his boredom would be stayed off, for a time.


	11. Long Way Down

"Yo sleep pretty fitfully." The first words upon waking, eyes opening to the blurry image of a long haired child standing over him, looking down with something resembling a smile, though eyes betraying a weariness and observation that exceeded his years. Eyes that had seen pain, suffering and death, eyes like his own, almost...but not eyes that had seen the horrors of war.

His response was to grunt and look away, eyes shifting to a nearby port, watching as stars streamed by outside. He briefly considered trying to blow himself up again, but he knew the second Gohan felt so much as a flickering of power he'd be knocked unconscious again at best, probably killed at worse. Instead he held himself fast, thinking over what he knew. Perhaps there was another way, now that he had failed.

After a few minutes of silence, he decided to break the ice and gauge the waters. From what he had been told, Gohan had always been a good guy, if hardened, through it all. "He kills everyone, you know."

Gohan seemed to think about this for a moment, and took in his appearance. There was another minute of scilence before he spoke. "Vegeta is fairly certain that you are probably his son. The DNA matchups, you can turn into a Super Saiya-jin... time travel was on our list of possibilities, but hadn't been very high. Still, you're clearly Bulma's also..." He trailed off in thought. "Dragonballs or technological?"

He looked away and back out to the stars. "There arn't any dragonballs, not when I come from. Namek fell before Earth did...but before that, Piccolo died trying to protect you, and Kami died with him."

Concern showed in Gohan's eyes, but so did that look of observing, as though he was trying to decern the truth of the words presented to him. "From Vegeta?"

He looked back and Gohan, and for the faintest moment concidered lying, before he decided against it. If he was to have any chance of changing things now, he needed Gohan on his side, and if he thought he was lying that would be the end of that. "No. Vegeta didn't kill anyone, not directly. But everything is his fault."

"How is everything my fault?" The deep, rough voice came from his right, shocking him. Turning his head quickly, he saw his father leaning against the doorway to the room. "Well, go on, I'm waiting. I took time out of training to come down for your happy fun story hour, so it better be good."

He held his head in resignation, concidering his options. If he told them everything, wouldn't that just make certain that it happened? But if he said nothing, it would happen as well...maybe if he told them, with him here, things could be changed? Maybe an extra Super Saiya-jin could make the difference that was needed?

"You can already feel it, can't you Father? The madness? The boredom? The lack of purpose? Every drive that you had, every reason for living died with him. And I'm not talking about Kold or Frieza. By then, you were just chasing Ghosts, weren't you?"

Vegeta growled and slammed his fist against the doorway, denting the metal, but there was a look in his eye that betrayed the truth of the words. "Carry on with the story, brat, before I decide to have you executed for attempting to assassinate me."

He gave Vegeta a dark look before continuing. "In a few weeks, you'll get a message from Bulma that a member of the Red Ribbon army, one that specialized in android and cyborg creation, has left the Earth. Tracing his path, you learn that he's heading for Cooler's space, and you reason that he must be going to join up with Cooler to wage war against his own demons, which is what remains of Goku's friends and race."

His dark look shifts to a glare. "You have the opprotunity to have him intercepted and killed before everything begins, but you -refuse-. I've seen the recording. You laugh and say it will be ammusing to squash the bugs under your foot once they have an illusion of a chance, but you were lying. You did it because of that emptiness crawling around you. You doom the entire galaxy to a massive civil war that destroys more than ¾ of all life in it, the entire Earth and eventually even Mother in order to entertain yourself! All because of the ghost of a dead man!"

He noticed Gohans eyes shift to Vegeta, carefully watching the older Saiya-jin, who himself seemed to be mulling over the information. "How did we lose?" being the result of this musing.

"The scientist, Gero, his technology when coupled with races that are already naturally strong enhances them to extreme levels. Gohan said, at one point, that even some basic soldiers would have rivaled Ssj Goku."

Vegeta scowled. "Don't make me laugh. The brat here could handle a small army of such weak fighters on his own by now."

"Those are the basic troops, Father." he spat the word. "Coolers elite will rival you, and thats to say nothing of the androids."

Vegeta raised his eyesbrows, interested. "Yes, the androids of Gero's are more powerful still. Using technology he wouldn't have had on Earth, he's about to make them far exceed everything else."

"So, we die at the hands of these androids?" Gohan asked, finally speaking up. 

A shake of the head, and a softer expression from himself when referring to Gohan. "No. Between Father's tactics and both of your own strength, you are able to fight a slow warfare with even them until eventually you grow stronger and readied yourself to defeat them. It's Cooler who kills you."

Vegeta couldn't refrain himself from laughing. "Foolish. Cooler is the most worthless member of his family. You expect me to believe..."

"I don't expect you to believe anything other than your own ego!" He shouted. "If Gero's technology can make an ordinary human as strong, and even stronger, than a Super Saiya-jin, what do you think it can do to a race that's naturally that strong?"

This caused Vegeta a moment of pause, before he shrugged and turned to leave.

"Father! When the time comes, you have to stop them!"

Vegeta turned his head back to respond, but was cut off as an explosion of light exploded around the room before pulling together and manifesting into the shape of an old looking man.

"I'm afraid that there will be no opportunity for that now, young Trunks." The voice say, an amused look on it's face.

"Gero." Trunks practically hissed.

"Not exactly, but close enough. I'm an AI program designed with Gero's memories. Did you really think we had no idea what "secret weapon" you were developing in the final days of the resistance? When you can back, we slipped a little something of our own in, a little unnoticeable segment of code that slowly interjected and wrote itself to create me, who in turn sent out a warning and all the information I had when we arrived in this time. I'm afraid Gero will already be long gone."

"Why would you tell us this?" Gohan, voice a little shaky at the omenius warning that had been brought to bare, the future that seemed immutable.

"Because it doesn't matter. Because we will win. Because having part of Gero's personality, I want to see the look of hopelessness and despair on your faces when you realize that you're all going to die." And with that, the light dispersed into nothingness, leaving them alone in the room.

"Guess that's settled then." Vegeta, the voice that broke the silence. "Untie him, brat, and then drag his ass down to the grav chamber. I want both of you to be in peak shape when I come down to train."

Trunks staired at him, dumbfounded. "Why would I..." but was cut off.

"I'm sure you can figure it out. I'm not responsible for this Universes destruction, even if I would have been."

Gohan looked at Trunks, chiming in. "For all you know, the course of history is random. In this Universe, it's entirely possible Vegeta might have chosen to have Gero killed rather than let him go..." He trailed off, allowing Trunks to make his own conclusions.

"Meaning regardless of what might have happened in this time and Universe, I made certain that the worse possible course would have."

Vegeta turned to walk out. "Exactly. Way to break it, hero. Now you can either sit around and be a baby, or you can make sure that you're strong enough to fix your mistake."


	12. Ten Years Ago

(AN: And once more back to writting. Should actually get through the story this time around. Despite the chapter's title this isn't actually a flashback. The song is just fitting in spirit and theme.)

...

It's funny. You spend over a year out in space, growing stronger...fufilling the legacy your father left behind of fighting stronger and stronger opponents that would seek to harm those you cared about; and then you go home. Except, this time, returning home had proven to be an issue in of itself. A sigh escaped his lips as he looked through the view. There was little else to do. He was too emotionally drained by this point to give any other reaction.

"Brat!" He heard over the intercom.

"I saw. Already on my way up Vege..." He was quickly cut off. He was cut off by a few moments of being bitched at. "Erm. On my way up, Lord."

As he left the room, the pulsating purple glow that filled the room continued unabated, as the shell surrounding Earth gave not a care for his departure.

...

A short trip later found him on the bridge of the flagship. The view screen showed the same thing that he had seen from his room, just much larger. Earth was sitting there, his shinning gem in the universe, surrounded by some form of pulsing shield. He already knew what the tests were likely to show; there was no getting through it. That's the luck of his life, and there was no point in deviating from it now.

"I assume you don't know anything about this?" He asked, looking at Vegeta. The King shook his head once, and slightly; dismissively.

"No." That moment saw the third little band of their trio entering the room briskly, a look of surprise over his features.

"What's going on?" Both Vegeta and Gohan exchanged glances. The man from the future had no idea what was going on in the past?

"I had assumed that the Woman developed some form of planetary defense while I was away. All attempts at Radar, radio signals, and anything else has been effectively neutered. I can't even sense Ki down there."

Trunks shook his head. "No. Mother was able to do some pretty impressive things with the technology from Frieza's empire, but nothing on this scale. I can't even imagine the resources that it would take."

Vegeta stared out the port, taking it in, while at the same time Gohan was making his own attempts. He mentally reached out, trying to form a mental link with his old mentor, but was finding even that avenue of communication completely blocked. Whatever this was, it was extraordinarily powerful.

They weren't left dumbfounded for long, though. After a few minutes of silence between the three of them, a signal shot through the room indicating that they were being hailed. Not needing to be ordered, Gohan ran across the room to the com and flipped it open. A moment later Bulma's features were occupying the room. Behind her stood Piccolo, some degree of concern on his face, and off to the side was a crib that had been set up in the room. Leave it to Bulma to not be able to take time off from either being a mother or a scientest.

"Well. They were right about the time, and how it works." She said with a look of accomplishment and relief on her face. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well. Chi-Chi will be happy."

Gohan smiled. "Thanks. How is my mother doing?"

A smile came to her face. "Bet..." That's about as far as she got before Vegeta cut in.

"Far be it from me to disrupt a conversation about family, but what the hell is going on?" His voice was gruff, but not without a slight edge of temperament. Gohan didn't get berated, which said something in of itself.

Her gaze shifted to Vegeta. "Wait your turn, Mr. We have all the time we need." Back to Gohan, the look softening. "She's doing well Gohan. We've all been spending time with her."

He nodded. "Thanks, Bulma. But, Vegeta's right." He said as he dodged a heated glare from the King. "What is going on?"

"Well. I can't go into too many details. Apparently saying too much would put the Earth potentially at great risk and certain destruction. We got a warning from the future, and for the moment, the Earth has to remain quarentened from the rest of the universe for it's own protection. They were kind enough to supply us with a way to speak...but it will only work at short ranges."

Vegeta's features filled with rage as he twisted to face his son. "I thought you said you didn't know anything about this?!"

"I don't. Have no idea what this is about, and didn't have anything to do with it." Trunks looked more startled than anyone else present.

Gohan, for his part, had his mind burning rubber trying to gain traction. If Trunks came back and created a separate timeline then no one else would have been able to come from his timeline to the present. Even if one accepted that time was mostly immutable and would follow generally the same path unless intentionally and drastically forced to alter, Trunks had already altered the entire course of history. That meant that whoever had done this would have had to have come from some point further along in the history that Trunks would have created, meaning...they had lost the war anyways, perhaps? But how would that knowledge put the Earth at great risk? Gohan was beginning to hate time travel.

"Who's that on the bridge with you Vegeta? And why is he wearing a Capsule Corp. jacket? Did I leave some on the ship?"

A smirk came to Vegeta's face despite himself. For once, he had significant information that Bulma lacked. "What, can't put two and two together?"

Bulma's brows furrowed as she was teased with a puzzle, and as per usual she had no resistance towards attempting to solve it. Well, no resistance outside of one specific kind of external source. She looked down and smiled, pausing to stoop over and pick up a soft featured, lavender haired child. "Only three month's and already crawling around. I don't know if we have to think daddies strong genes or mommies brilliance." She cooed down at the ball of kid in her arms. "Oh. Vegeta. Since you took off so abruptly, you missed your own child's birth." She suddenly remembered that she was speaking with him.

"Well. Say hello to your daddy, Bra. He's a dick, a good guy once you learn to live with that."

There was pandemonium on the bridge. Gohan caught the look of suprise, regret and sorrow flash across Trunks face as he turned and bolted from the room. Vegeta did not. A moment later a Super Saiya-jin flashed through the door as it closed and a tremendus clash shot through from in the hallway. The fact they would have been stranded in space is probably the only reason there wasn't a massive hole through the ship. Gohan quickly followed after.

As the door opened back up he was greated by sparking, severed wires and a gaping pathway torn through a few of the bulkheads. With intention, and probably a dose of luck, none of them were torn into the vaccume outside and were all confined to internal damage.

"What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?" Vegeta demanded, his rage and confusion barely allowing him to form cohesive sentences.

Trunks, for his part, was unable to give a response, the lack of oxygen serving something of a hindrance to the formation of words. Well, that and the inability to transfer that air through his wind passage to vocalize anything, with as tightly as Vegeta was gripping it.

"Put him down Vegeta." The King did just that, dropping Trunks to the floor as he wheeled around onto Gohan. The slight pause that he exerted before diving on him would have been lost on anyone else, but Gohan caught it. He had once, short, chance to offer a good reason he shouldn't be torn limb from limb for insubordination. It was a sign of respect shown to few.

"Trunks is your Son. Bra is your daughter. Trunks returned in time before s/he was conceived, so he can't be responsible for the shift. We were already told there's another time traveler though Vegeta. There's no telling how long they've been here, and how much their presence has impacted things. If you didn't catch the look in his eyes, he recognized her, Vegeta. And the pain...he knew his sister. He _lost _his sister. Your daughter."

It was the easiest explanation, he though. If the time Traveler had already been here, both in their time and Trunks future, it was possible they simply hadn't done anything of note originally, and that this allowed things to proceed unhindered. Somehow, Trunks coming back in time had prompted them into action.

Vegeta turned to look at Trunks, a look of understanding, legitimate concern, being quickly suppressed under indifference. "Speak."

Trunks looked down, shame on his features, tears trickling down his face lightly. "It's true. I was away leading a raid on one of Red Ribbon's main supply bases when it happened. They found where mom's lab was. They raided it. Mother died, and Bra died protecting her and then trying to avenge her. I heard from the few survivors that she turned into a Super Saiya-jin at Mother's death but that it hadn't saved her. Hadn't changed anything."

Vegeta didn't say a word, instead walking briskly back into the command room. Gohan spared a glance to Trunks, a glance that confirmed that the prince wanted to be left to himself, before he followed after Vegeta, his knight on his heels.

"I'm cutting this short. Earth is part of my Empire now. Revive the three eyed one and then the useless one. Don't give them an option. The galaxy will soon be at war with Gero, and Earth needs to be prepared in case this shield falls. If they're true warriors, they'll understand that. Take care of my Daughter, and the brat would say take care of his mother. I have a galaxy to organize, a war to wage, and a fool to rip limb from limb for causing the deaths of what is mine in _any _timeline." He turned his gaze slightly behind him. "Brat. Say what you have to say now."

Gohan glanced at Piccolo and nodded, noticing an approving look in his mentors eyes before he returned the nod. "I don't have anything to say, Vegeta. Let's go win a war."


	13. Born to Lead

"What do you mean, No, you over sized piece of meat? I demand that you do what I command at once before I decide to find out how eternal dragons taste!"

The site of Vegeta, in all his Super Saiya-jin glory floating in front of the eternal dragon, Porunga, in a state of rage and fury was actually somewhat comical for Gohan...and pretty terrifying for everyone that wasn't him. Gohan knew from his fathers stories how easy it was to fix things should a dragon be destroyed. Gohan knew that Vegeta was lacking this knowledge, there for, Gohan knew Vegeta wouldn't be as rash as to destroy something that was such a huge boon and tactical advantage without knowing if it could be recovered. As to his feelings on the denial of the wish...well, he couldn't be upset, because he was expecting the answer. Gohan was fairly Genra savvy by this point. His life was hell. Things that proved this true were just preaching to the choir.

"I meant what I said, King of Saiya-jins. The barrier was created by those who outstrip my authority. While I have the ability to shut down the barrier or bypass it, I will not do so without their consent. I have asked and have been refused. Do you have any other wishes?"

Vegeta growled, and Gohan found himself intrigued. Vegeta was so kind as vocalize his question, though in his own special way.

"And who in the nine hells has more authority than the king of this Galaxy?" Vegeta's voice was dark, dangerous; challenging.

"No one in the hells has authority to forbid me to act. They wish to remain anonymous for now, for both the safety of the Universe in general and the Earth in particular. Now, I grow impatient. Are there any more wishes?"

Vegeta stared at the Dragon with a degree of indignance for a few moments before decisively shaking his head. "No. I have no use for you at the present. Go crawl back into whatever hole you came from and wait for me to summon you once more." The dragon didn't bother with a retort, instead breaking away in a flash of light, the dragonballs spreading across the planet.

There was a calm as Vegeta landed, his fury slowly fading, his super Saiya-jin transformation dropping as he regained control of himself.

"Well. That wasn't entirely unexpected, though we learned something useful from it." Gohan's voice spoke with wisdom as he approched.

Vegeta simply shrugged. "We learned something potentially intersting, but not useful for the moment. But speaking of useful..." His eyes turned to rest on Mori and the other gathered Nameks. Gohan took his meaning, but raised his hand.

"Sire. Do you mind if I handle the talks? I believe with my history here, I can make things go smoothly." He braced himself to be shot down by his prince, who tended to favor the "do what I say or get blown to hell" brand of diplomacy, but was surprised when he instead received a nod.

"It's why you came along. Now hurry up. I have plans to make, things to put into motion. I'll be back on the ship, and I expect nothing less than total compliance." With that, the princes aura roared to life around him and he rocketed off leading Gohan calmly walking towards the assembled Nameks.

"We're sorry the dragon was unable to help." Mori was the one to speak, his voice indeed carrying with it some sympathy for Gohan's situation. Seeing the questioning look in his eyes, he shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know what power ties the Dragon's hands. It's likely Guru would know, but he did not pass on all of his knowledge to us before he passed on."

Gohan shrugged. "I'm sure that it will make itself known in due time. That's how these things tend to work; nothing remains a mystery forever. But, that's not the main reason I came to speak with you."

"I suspect I know of what you wish to ask." Mori stated sagely. "I have misgivings, however. My people are mostly peaceful. We have no desire to join Vegeta's warmongering."

Gohan smirked, a trait he had subconsciously acquired from the prince. "Nor would I expect you to, elder. But the army Vegeta is comprising and training at the moment isn't one of conquest, it's one of survival. One of my dads old foes has joined with Frieza's brother and will in due time be sweeping through the galaxy bringing everything to it's knees. Even if you think Vegeta is a monster, you know someone like Frieza is far, far worse. We're asking for your help to stop them, and in return we'll guard your planet. It's almost certain they would come looking for the dragonballs in due time."

Mori contemplated this for a long moment before slowly nodding his head. "You speak with wisdom and finesse far beyond your years, young hybrid. Vegeta has chosen his second in command very well. Where the prince's brute force would destroy relationships and allies, your words cultivate them."

"Thank you Elder Mori." Gohan beamed proudly. "Vegeta plans on making this place his main base of operations. Have the majority of our forces based from this location is ideal due to the existence of the dragonballs, which themselves will be an extraordinarily valuable resource. I was told that in the future our failure to protect Namek came early on. I'm counting on our protecting it to play a role in the war that will lead to a much quicker, much more peaceful, resolution than we might otherwise see. I must inform Vegeta of your decision. Be well, Elder." And with that, Gohan was off as well.

...

The next few weeks proceeded rather quickly. Vegeta ordered technicians from all over his empire to report to Namek, where bases were established. A large orbital command center, ship construction yard, and training facilities were contructed. On the planet below, several more large training yards, complete with gravity chambers, were also costructed. Namek and the space around it were quickly transformed into Vegeta's headquarters.

Gohan found himself standing on the bridge of Vegeta's ship, watching over everything coming together while simultaneously monitoring reports from caretakers of other sections of Vegeta's empire. It seemed that Gero had fled to the eastern reaches of the universe. Other than that, Vegeta's information networks didn't extend any further. Outside of the usual minor border skirmishes with Cooler's forcers, there hadn't been any signs of danger yet.

"Brat." Vegeta intoned as he walked through the doorway, the distinctive sound of his combat boots on the metal stopping near the throne. "I have orders for you."

Gohan's reaction was to click a button to close the reports he had been monitoring and to spin on heal. A few steps found him before his lord, and another moment found him on a knee. "Your orders, Lord?"

Vegeta smirked. "We can't have our strongest forces concentrated in one area. While we possess the strength to crush anything they can throw at us, we can't be everywhere at once. Therefor, I am stationing yourself and my son in other regions so we can more quickly respond to threats. Be aware, brat. If you get in over your head, there won't be any backup to come for you."

Gohan nodded. It was the dangerous of the scope of the war they were fighting. If he were to run into something stronger than him, he would have to rely on his own cunning to see him safe. An ability to instantly travel from one place to another would certainly very quickly win the war, but if such an ability existed he had yet to find it.

"I know that your soft heart finds it hard to listen to, but should you need to abandon a planet to destruction, keep in mind what we have under our control. With that said, you are assigned to Zaula's station. Try not to get into too much trouble."

Gohan smiled slightly, but quickly dropped it. Not fast enough for the prince to fail to take notice, if the smirk was any indication. "Yes, Lord. I won't let you down." And with that, Gohan was on his way.

...

The airlocks hissed open with the sound of displacing air, the lights and sounds of the station spilling in and reminding Gohan of interesting times. More catching his young attention though was the scent of a certain someone.

(AN: Imagine Zaula is voiced like Fem Shepard in Mass Effect. That is all.)

"Welcome back Gohan." Zaula's voice cut through, pulling his attention to her form standing alone, waiting for him to depart from his ship.

He didn't make her wait long, walking out from within the airlock, giving a glance around. "I thought you'd have more important things to do than sit here and wait for me."

She waved her hand dismissively. "You think I'm so incompetent in my work that I can't slip away for five minutes without everything falling down around me? I could probably disappear for a few months before there were any serious problems. Besides, it's not everyday my favorite Saiya-jin hybrid drops by."

Gohan crossed his arms and tilted his head. "I'm pretty sure I'm the only Saiya-jin hybrid." He paused, recent events catching up to him. "Right now, I mean, from right now..." He scrunched his nose in annoyance. "I hate time travel."

She chuckled. "On more important topics, I've seen to it that a gravity chamber be constructed on your new ship, which I also took the liberty of having constructed. It's state of the art. We reverse engineered the technology of your Bulma's design and updated our own technology with them. The results are rather impressive. We were also able to streamline the design and cloak it's energy functions. Unless someone actually looks at the ship, you're virtually invisible."

He nodded. "That will be good once the war begins..."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? I thought it would be quite useful now, actually."

A blink on his part, confusion clear. "Vegeta informed me that I was to stay on the station..."

A smirk spread across her features. "And if Vegeta wants to keep his empire from falling apart in the war, he needs every advantage he can get. That means races, diplomacy, allies...that means you."

Gohan thought about it for a moment and let it sink in before Zaula took the time to continue. "The galaxy is large. Frieza saw little use in races beyond their planets and resources. For example, he knew nothing of Namekian healing or fusing..."

Gohan had to think long and hard about the implications of that. Not because he was stupid, but simply because the sheer degree of possibilities that was opened up before him. "Not to mention there might be other powerful artifacts like the dragonballs and such..." He shook his head slightly. "I think I see your point, Zaula. I need to go make friends, allies and expand Vegeta's empire with diplomacy while keeping an eye out for useful abilities, technology and magical artifacts."

She nodded. "And to that extent, I've uploaded the coordinates of the home planets of all known alien species. Further, I've marked the ones that either know have ki control or have heard interesting rumors about. You should find your time well kept."

He grinned and couldn't stop himself from taking the few steps forwards and hugging her to himself. His vantage of the surprise on her face was blocked by proximity. "Thanks a lot Zaula. You're the best!" He regained his composure quickly, slightly before realizing that due to the height difference between them that he had promptly buried his face in her chest. He stumbled away from her, face beat red, and stammering apologies. He wasn't sure if the laughter made him feel better or worse.

"Oh. You know, I do try." She smiled seductively at him. "You know, if you don't want to leave til tomorrow, I have room in my bed..."

If it was possible, the red in his face further intensified as he stumbled back further, tripping over the airlock and spilling into the ship on his ass. "No. I mean, you know. Big galaxy, lots of space to cover...AND I JUST TURNED SEVEN TODAY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!"

"Have a good trip, Gohan. Come back safe." Her smile had tempered itself down to a nice, sweet one as the doors closed and his ship was launched into space, before it faded entirely and she touched a calm link.

"Yeah. He's started his journey. If you don't mind me asking, why are you having him go out and do all of this?" She listened intently, already knowing the answer. His enemies would be focused on him, so Gohan was free to move about as he pleased. Plus, he had absolute faith that he was entirely under his control. Giving him the illusion of freedom and independent thought just increased his grasp.

"Excellent plan as always, Lord. I would wish you luck, but you don't need it."

When the call ended she chuckled to herself. 'It may be true that he is your perfect knight, regardless of how strong he becomes, but that's because as much as you've changed him, him and your family have changed you. He might have been dragged from the light into the grey, but you've been dragged from the dark into it as well. And the funny thing you don't seem to realize is that he started far more light than you started dark.'

The universe had become quite interesting in the last few years.


	14. Diamond Eyes

The war had picked up it's pace quite a bit in the months that had proceeded. Incursions by the red ribbon army had increased from scouting and prodding forces into full on war fleets. It seemed like the calm before the storm had lasted roughly 3 years. It had came sooner than Trunks had told them that it had in his time, but not sooner than Vegeta had expected. Both sides knew the score, both sides knew that the other knew. It had been a race to reach a point in which they were ready. Gero's forces thought they had the upper hand, and had began their incursions. Vegeta had to wonder what had tilted the scales. Had they reached a number of bodies they thought was sufficient? He strongly doubted that. Gero likely had data on the strength they had reached in his time line, and had made a move once he had forces that could dispatch that strength.

The question was, was he stronger than he had been in the future? Was he strong enough to beat that which killed him? The real question was, could he kill Cyborg Cooler? Gero would be confident Cooler would win. By Trunks statement, the mechnenized frost demon had been strong enough to defeat both himself and Gohan in their SSj forms. He was certain they were stronger now, but would they be strong enough? The answers would come in time, but it was time to make their own moves.

His fierce teal gaze locked on to the war fronts, monitoring forces and reports. Their armies were holding their own. Estimates of the strength of Gero's troups was a third higher than what Trunks had predicted, but it was still within Vegeta's estimitations. Just like they couldn't magically train themselves beyond a certain point in a limited time, Gero's couldn't develop his technology faster than a given rate. Across the board, everything was simply at an escalated level of power compared to what it had been.

He watched one particular battle unfold on the reaches of the empire.

...

As there had been a calm before the war started in earnest, there was a calm before this battle. One hundred biological's floated in space, an enriched and condensed oxygen trapped within a ki bubble that they maintained. There was no need for suits, only the natural flow of ki they had practiced until they could maintain it in their sleep. To be drained was to suffocate, to be unconscious was to die. But this was a War, and those things were true statements regardless of the field. Humans, Namakians, red skinned Syrins, blue skinned Hurash... it was a composite alliance force that stood strong against the 40 machines that floated before them.

There was a flicker on the otherside of the battlefield, and all hell broke loose. He quickly crossed his arms across his chest and his aura burst a brilliant red a moment before a kick impacted against it, sending him hurtling back through the lines. A few hands caught his shoulders and steadied him before giving him a push back.

"In one piece Jones?" A gruff voice called out. He shook his head slightly and winced. "Yeah, Bass. Haven't taken a hit that strong since Master Yamcha popped kaioken on me for the first time." His gaze looked out across the battlefield, watching energy blasts light up the night sky like shooting stars. Smoke drifted as they exploded against metal and flesh alike. Scattered debre of a few droids floated from their destruction, blood and corpses were the answer. So much damage in only a few moments. Every human was wreathed in a brilliant red, using numbers to fend off enemies that were their strength or greater.

He was one of the strongest humans alive, boasting a power of two and a half million, able to hold a tenfold almost indefinitely and able to maintain a Kaioken x20 for brief periods of time. Only 500 such humans could boast his rank and strength. Only 52 could claim to be greater, and a first class cyborg could still pick him apart like he was nothing.

One droid bust through the lines and was on him. His aura flared brilliantly as he pushed it to the limits, barely blocking blows and dodging kills shots, having no chance to counter attack. From his side Bass charged in and kicked the machine in the side of the head, sending it spiraling into Asakawa and Michael who simultaneously punched it in the chest and made it stagger, a few pieces of metal flying loose from it's chase. He'd never been so glad to see the green bastard.

Instinct kicked in and he dived forwards, a buzzing energy springing to life across his forarm as he focused his energy. "Kienzan!" It wasn't Krillan's technique exactly, but Tien had taken the basis of it and had taught it to most of his tranees in a form that was practical for assassinations and hand to hand; a blade that sprung to life around your arm. Unlike some thought, there were limits to what it could cut through, but as he proved by slamming his arm through the chest of the droid and slicing upwards through it's primary CPU, twice his strength was no problem as all.

He heard a roar and twisted in time to see Bass's arm ripped off at the shoulder, a solid black droid that almost blended in with the void of space holding the severed appendage. "Shit!" the exclamation escaped his lips even as his com sprung to life. "Elite on the field. Coordinates mark 3-7-12 from my own."

It was instinctive as all within a hundred meters of their location continued their own battles while willing some of their energy away. Behind him, Asha had remained out of the combat for the most part as her comrades protect her. Now her hand was held before her, a brilliant blue ball of energy exploding to life on her open hand. Without a word it was tossed as hard as she could manage. The elite slipped out of the way as it's sensors warned it about the strong power hurtling towards it, but was unprepared as Bass's arm shot back to life. In one swift move he drew a small baton, whom if one bothered to sense would feel Asha's ki infused within it, and deflected the hurtling sphere into the elite, causing an explosion that wiped it out.

Without a word and only exchanged glances, the squad dived back into the battle.

...

A buzz of the door brought his attention back from the multifaceted display and numerical reports, and quizzical raising of his eyebrows coming across his features. Who would dare intrude into his command center without authorization? For that matter, there were only a few people that had clearence...

A moment later a three year aged Gohan crossed the threshold. Vegeta took in his appearance quickly, finding it quite curious. A thin silver circlet sat across his forhead, hair spilling around it though trimmed to just above his neck. He wore Saiya-jin armor beneath that, though a black model rather than the standard blue with a single cauldron and gauntlet on his right side while his left arm and leg were obscured by a black almost velvet cloak with silver trim. "Well. Look what the cat drug in. You been going native, brat?"

Gohan chuckled as he moved forwards, dropping to a knee before Vegeta. "My Lord. I've returned from my journeys."

Vegeta scowled. "That's all well and good, but what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be defending Zaula's station."

Gohan shrugged. "I had Trunk's take over the defense termporarily while I slipped out to come here. He's free to move as he wants, so I figured he's free to sit idle for a few weeks."

Vegeta thought about it and nodded. "Very well. What was so important that you came here in person?"

Gohan looked up at his king and smirked. "Well. Lord. I thought I'd drop in and see how your training had come along. We both know myself and Trunks are the only true opponents you're going to find. Were you expecting me?"

Vegeta was dumbfounded for a second before realizing what the brat was talking about. "No. I maintain my transformation at all times. It's best for the troops to behold me as the God I am, and for myself to be protected from any cowardly sneak attacks."

Gohan nodded. It made quite a bit of sense to him.

"After you, brat." Vegeta said, gesturing to the training room.

...

Gohan and Vegeta were both panting heavily, Vegeta's teal eyes staring into Gohan's black ones. Burns, scrapes and bruises covered both of them, but through it all it seamed that Vegeta was in slightly worse shape than Gohan was.

"How...how strong have you become, Brat?" Vegeta managed between breaths.

Gohan smirked calmly. "You always knew I'd surpass you one of these days, Vegeta. It seemed that day has come."

"I expected it to come on an even playing feild! How have you surpassed the legendary without even transforming into it yourself?!" Vegeta growled and launched himself forwards in a right hook, which Gohan twisted and parried while backhanding the prince away.

Vegeta drilled into the wall denting it, before stumbling forwards a few steps and glaring at Gohan. "Well. Don't keep me waiting. Transform and end this with your full power, brat."

Gohan shook his head slowly. "I'm afraid I'd be far weaker than you if I transformed, Vegeta. Your Super Saiya-jin strength is extremely impressive. I didn't even realize that you could train it to such an extent."

Vegeta was confused, but took the stoke to his ego as expected. "Well of course. I am the King, after all. But that doesn't explain your comment. How would you be weaker?"

Gohan smiled softly. "One of the races that I encountered in my travels were masters of Ki control. They weren't very strong, but the could tell how much power was sleeping inside me, could see the power tied to my rage. They taught me to let go of my rage, to let go of my grief. To take control of the full extent of the power sleeping inside me and make it my own without reliance on my emotions. I've grown, Vegeta."

Vegeta blinked. "So you've gained access to your dormant powers. I always knew they were powerful but this is exceptional. It doesn't explain why you're weaker as a Super Saiya-jin."

A sad look came to Gohan's features. "Super Saiya-jin is a transformation of anger and tension. It's strictly incompatible with what I've learned. Now that I know it could be trained, I suppose I could increase it's strength, but so long as it remains an emotion driven ability I could never mix the two. It's one or the other."

Vegeta hit the kill switch and motions to the door. "Well. It seems we've both gained a measure of the other. Do you know how Trunks stands?"

Gohan shook his head. "No. I didn't meet with him at the base. I had intended to spar with him once I had returned.'

Vegeta nodded. "Very well. You've served me well, young knight, by growing so strong. Return to your base, test my son, and then send him to me so I may do the same. If what I've been observing of the battles is accurate to Gero's forces, we've managed to outpace his creations. Victory is a certainty, it a ways off."

Gohan didn't respond, but knew that it was foolish to believe that so soon. There was much time before they came to that point, and much could happen between now and then. He left without voicing his concerns.

Vegeta, for his part, remained in the chamber for a long time, in a great deal of thought. Gohan had become stronger than him, but independent of the Legendary. His words has struck him, though. Because of the time Vegeta had remained in the transformation, it had become second nature to him. He lived in it, ate in it, slept in it. There was no strain or rage assosiated with it. If Gohan trained his Super Saiya-jin state the same way, he very well could mix the two and become unstoppable.

Vegeta shook his head as he decided against it. The brat had been gone for so long, he wasn't sure where his control stood. So long as he was only a little stronger he was certain he remained loyal, but if he was so much stronger as to make Vegeta nothing but a fly to himself? He didn't have that much faith in his control. For now, he would keep what he knew of the transformation to himself.


	15. Headstrong

Gohan was in deep contemplation as his journey carried him back to his base of operations. He was looking forwards to seeing Trunks and how he had progressed, and more so even if he'd deny it, he was looking forwards to seeing Zaula. She had managed to ingrain herself in him over the past few years, becoming not only a primary source of information and direction but a confidant and source of confidence as well. As much as he hated to admit it, he was developing very real feelings for her. But could one question that? She was the only regular source of communication he had engaged in, the only person he could maintain a conversation at his level with. He would be hard pressed to not have developed a crush, no more than a crush, on the woman. But could anything come of it? He was still only 10 years old, and the woman was several centuries old. He was undoubtedly mature for his age, but not nearly that mature.

It was those questions of the heart that distracted him from the fact that something was very clearly wrong, his attention only coming back to reality a mere moments before his ship exploded around him. A shimmering blue shield radiated around his body as the explosion consumed him, protecting him from the blast as well as trapping a good deal of oxygen from dispersing into space. With a little effort he was able to greatly condense this oxygen into his right lung. He had learned to utilize his body in ways that it wasn't biologically designed through meditation and ki manipulation of his organs. This particular technique caused his body to draw oxygen from his right lung at rates that it demanded while expelling carbon dioxide through his left.

As the explosion cleared he found himself floating in a field of debris that was once his ship, his ki condensed into a shell against his skin warding off the element of space. His gaze took in the force he was up against, and he found himself a bit aghast. There were dozens upon dozens of robots, all of them of elite model, and more importantly were the three advanced androids he spotted in their numbers. The androids were of such strength that a single one could best thousands of their army despite all tactics and techniques that worked against the lesser models. So far in the war only a single one had been destroyed, and it was at the hands of the entire Super Elite force they had to bear...and even then they had lost half their number. He suspected that three years ago, a single one would have had sufficient strength to best himself, Trunks and Vegeta simultaneously.

But that was three years ago.

A calm overcame Gohan as he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, calming himself as he calmly opened the floodgates of his power. His body tensed very slightly as his hair began to wave despite the lack of hair in space. A moment later they opened with fierce determination as he vanished from sight in a blur of incredible speed. Less than a second later one of the androids exploded in a massive wave of Ki as Gohan was suddenly before it, hands thrust out with blue power rushing from his form. Then all hell broke loose.

He twisted and spun as he dodged hundreds of ki bolts and beams, most passing harmlessly by while very few burned through his clothing and even fewer singed his skin. Through the rain of power he danced, twirled and spiraled, one by one destroying the sources of hell that rained down on him. The frequency changed and the beat slowly shifted though as they adapted, using their superior numbers to force him to maneuvered and adapt to their tune. A few moments found him out of position, their position, and blasts were fired with such number and direction that he found himself cornered.

His handscame before his chest, one over and one under facing opposing directions, fingers clutched slightly as though holding a ball. An extrodinary amount of ki poured from him to between his hands though it took no visible form, instead an invisible an extrodinarily powerful concentration of ki that twisted like a whirlwind.

As the blasts were on top of it he unleashed it, twisting in a massive non-explosion radiating outwards from himself not just countering the oncoming attacks but deflecting them with refractive properties in every which direction. Most of the droid army was damaged or destroyed by this counter and the rest were slowly mopped up by Gohan.

When everything was done he breathed heavy, his energy sources heavily tapped. There were limits to how many one could fight. As was proven, just a sheer number of energy blasts from enough sources could severely limit your mobility. One blast might be the bite of an insect, but a thousand insect bites could kill. Such a fight could bring the attrition that a dozen or even a hundred fights against individual opponents over a long course in but a few minutes.

Gohan took a few moments to mourn the loss of his faithful ship before he gathered his energy around himself and blasted off, continuing the trip back towards the station "on foot", as it were.

...

The station was coming into view, but long before he got there he felt Trunks power level roaring high and slowly dwindling. He feared that he hadn't been the only one assaulted in the resent excursion and seeing Trunks glowing form far off in the distance confirm his suspicions. He tried to raise his energy higher to accelerate and help, but he found he simply didn't have the reserves to do so. An idea came to his mind, and with a roar, golden light exploded around him as he ascended into Super Saiya-jins, the forms bulk of untapped power rushing into him and augmenting his extraordinarily dwindled reserves.

He hadn't transformed into SSj in a long time, so he hadn't been sure what would happen, but it seemed that it's energy was indeed separate from the power he could access in his base form. It felt...awkward and unwieldy though. It didn't have the clarity of thought or precision of power that his base possessed now. Further, in this form a single Android model would have thrashed him...he wouldn't even be able to beat Vegeta's base form with the effortlessness he should have been able to.

But still, with his base form tapped out, he was grateful for the extra well of power that his SSj could provide.

He found it somewhat odd, as he came close enough to see some detail. Trunks managed to destroy an Android model, but he could tell the older halfbreed was very tired. The odd thing though was the form that he was in. It was clearly Super Saiya-jin, but not like anything he had ever seen before. Trunk's muscles were larger than he had recalled, and his hair stood more stiffly. The energy he was sensing, and calculating what the likely total power had been, was still less than Vegeta's Super Saiya-jin, but if Trunks was using it he imagined it was stronger than his own. Another android fired a massive beam towards the station, and desperately Trunks threw himself in the way and fired a beam of his own to counter...a beam that was slowly loosing ground. Trunks had lost too much strength.

Gohan put all of his energy into accelerating, but he knew he wasn't going to make it in time. Desperation filled his mind, but it wouldn't help. All of his emotional strength was his to control, and he had already tapped it out. There would be no sudden burst of emotional power to save the day here.

He desperately watched the scene unfold before him, and as the beam closed in Trunks shot a look towards him, one of...was that a smirk? A moment later power roared around Trunks dramatically as his Ki rose higher and higher. His hair exploded in a spikey golden mess as his muscles dramatically expanded in size, up and up past even Vegeta. The beam struggle he had been slowly loosing became extraordinarily one sided and a moment later the android was blown away. Gohan was somewhat dumbfounded. If Trunks wasn't injured...that form would rival his own full power.

Trunks let the form dropped and gave Gohan a motion to meet him inside the station. Gohan could only respond with a nod as he followed him in.

...

"That...was impressive. But why didn't you just use that from the beginning? You would have been able to easily handle them." Gohan stated as he entered into the ship, still in his Super form. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to really stand at this rate. Even though Super was taxing on his stamina, to not be in this state would have left him with very little Ki, and the likely need for a rejuvenation tank or at least some sleep.

"Nice to see you too, Gohan." Trunks smirked, his own hair back to his base lavender. But he shook his head to answer the question. "The form burns itself out very quickly, and limits my flexibility quite a bit. In a physical fight, a skilled opponent could simply outmaneuver me. It's useful only in situations in which durability, physical strength, or sheer ki is the answer. I think with some training I can get it to the point where I can instantaneously transition to it, but I'm not there yet."

Gohan nodded. If Trunks could master going in and out of it, he would be quite impressive, and a force all his own indeed. He was curious though, after seeing Vegeta. "How's your basic Super Saiya-jin? Is it stronger than when you first unlocked it?"

Trunks nodded. "A little. It seems like opening up the higher forms has increased the strength of my basic Super Saiya-jin." Gohan contemplated this. Vegeta's basic Super Saiya-jin form was stronger than trunks 1st stage asended form, but it seemed even that form was likely to drain stamina quicker than basic...and Vegeta seemed to experience almost no drain in his own Super Saiya-jin. It seemed as though Super Saiya-jin itself was trainable. Something you could master, something that could become...effortless.

"It seems we've all taken our separate paths to power." Gohan stated allowed.

"I wondered about that. Even with you being injuried, it seems like your Super Saiya-jin is, forgive me for saying this, pretty weak. Have you not even unlocked the 1st step up?"

Gohan shrugged. "I have not. I didn't even make the attempt to train my Super Saiya-jin at all, to be honest. It's still just as strong as it was three years ago. Even my "base" strength hasn't increased as much. I've been focusing on meditating and drawing out the power of my emotions in a controlled way. I had thought that it and Super Saiya-jin were mutually exclusive due to the emotions and strain involved, but after seeing your father and you...well, your father hasn't unlocked the 1st stage advancement either, and he's still stronger than you without that Second stage of yours."

Trunks seemed a little shocked, but nodded. "How strong are you, at full strength?"

Gohan chuckled. "Somewhere around your second stage. I can't say for sure which of us is stronger though without seeing it at full power."

Trunks nodded in thought. "You'd still win a fight, though. It has limitation's I'm sure both my father and you would be able to easily take advantage of."

Gohan laughed. "Perhaps. But still, it's interesting to see how we've all developed. I don't even think Vegeta's was intentional. Basic Super Saiya-jin just seems to have much more potential than we had imagined, potential that can only be unlocked by mastering it and making it as easy as our normal forms."

Trunks gave some thought to that. "I wonder...still, you should inform my father. If he's gained as much strength as I have without even actively training it, there's probably much more strength to be gained if he puts his mind to it."

Gohan nodded.

"You should do the same, actually. If you're as strong as you say you are, and you can add both that power and the strength of a trained super Saiya-jin to it, I can't imagine how powerful you'd become."

Gohan was going to respond before he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, and felt a toned but very clearly female body press up against him from behind. "It's good to see you again, Gohan. It's been so long since you've stayed with me."

He blushed, hard, and pushed away, though Trunks noticed it wasn't as quite as fast as he should have if the situation bothered him. "I didn't...she doesn't mean...She means me staying on the stat...I'M ONLY TEN!"

Trunks laughed long and hard, to the point where he had to lean against a wall, all the weariness of war draining away from him, some small look of recognition and nostalgia coming to his eyes, but a look that was quickly lost and unnoticed by Gohan. Zaula, on the other hand, took interest in that look, a look at the two of them, from the man from the future. She kept it to herself, as she did most things, however.

"If you're done making me look like a fool," Gohan stated, the red in his face not entirely gone. "I need to make my report to Lord Vegeta. If you'll excuse me." With that, he turned on heel and walked through the ship leaving the two behind. A few minutes later found him at the communication station which he entered and ordered everyone else out of. A command from the Right Hand was quickly obeyed.

"Lord." He stated once the call had went through.

"You have something to report, brat?" Vegeta's words were irritated. His tone was not.

"A bit. I was attacked by a powerful contengent on my was back to the ship. A force none of our current configurations could have withstood. I'd recomended decreasing the numbers of our groups and increasing their independent sizes. Still, it seems as though they committed a great deal to the attack, and more than I'm sure they're happy to loose, given that such a force hasn't been fielded before."

"Numbers, brat." Vegeta answered without concern or impression.

"Elites, sixty or seventy strong. Androids, three of them."

Vegeta chuckled. "Not happy to loose indeed. Elites rarely number more than 4 or 5 in any of their squads. Androids have rarely shown up, and even then only a single one at a time. Either they've speed up production to the point where we're all likely screwed or we've dealt them a blow they won't soon recover from."

Gohan noded. "Trunks took out a score of droids himself, including at least one Android. You'll have to get the specifics from him, though."

Vegeta nodded with some amusement, something resembling...happiness? On his face. The failed assassinations had just turned the war heavily in their favor.

"Also. Trunks has unlocked two additional forms of Super Saiya-jin. One increases his strength and ki, along with it's drain, and the further stage does the same, except trades off the drastic increase in power with a severe limit in mobility, flexibility and admittibly has a very large taxing effect."

Vegeta nodded. "I myself have unlocked the first stage, and suspected the second but never bothered with it because I suspected as much. As to the first, as I grow more and more acclimated to the Basic form, it seems to give less of a boost. I think it's essentially just artificially and forcibly reaching power basic super saiya-jin possess on it's own. How is Trunk's basic Super Saiya-jin?"

Gohan shrugged. "Weaker than your own. He would require his 1st stage increase to match you. Second stage to surpass."

Vegeta smirked. "As I suspected, but I had no way of knowing without interaction with another Super Saiya-jin. It seems as though the power of the first and second stage can be accessed in basic Super Saiya-jin with training and growing used to the form."

Gohan nodded. "That's what I suspect."

"Very good, Knight, for bringing this to my attention. It will redirect how I've been training to great effect, I think. Be warned, I think I'll be calling you back soon. Gero's forces are slowly loosing the war, and this latest slip up has cost him greatly. He's going to be looking for a target he can take out to regain his advantage, and I'm about to offer him one. He'll make a move on Namek. Both sides will be committing all of their resources. This will be the one to decide things."

Gohan nodded. By this point the war had been skirmishes for two and a half years, all out for almost a year itself. It was time for it to end.

...

His gaze shifted down across the planet, a sensation unlike anything he had felt before coming to him. There was something going on down there, something dark, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. He scowled.

"What are you wanting me to see, old man? Stop playing games." He growled.

"I'm not playing games with you. I'm not sure what it is myself. I was hoping a second pair of eyes could tell me something I didn't know."

Piccolo turned back to the world below, and then back to Kami. "I sense a dark intent, something...wrong. Other than that, I can't say."

Kami nodded. "It's as I feared. There is something hiding on this planet, biding it's time. A monster of some sort, I'm certain, and our most powerful defenders are trapped off the planet."

Piccolo himself was a little worried. "Most of our defenses in general. Since we were permitted to wish our trained warriors off planet to join Vegeta's war efforts, it's only Myself, Tein, Yamcha and a few trainees left behind."

"No. There is one other..."

Piccolo growled. "You are NOT to bring her into this."

Kami was sympathetic, but firm. "It's not your place to protect her. She's a warrior..."

Piccolo lashed out with Ki pressure, knocking Kami back. "But it falls to me to do so. If anything happened to her...it's not a consequence I could live with." And then he was off, flaring his Ki to alert Tien and Yamcha to his position. He had managed to get a lock on where the dark feelings were coming from.


	16. Six Feet From the Edge

Detecting the dark intentions had seemingly only given him a slight headstart. That, or whatever it was knew that they were coming. The human warriors, the Saiya-jins, even himself...he could feel all of these powers dancing and intermingling in some sort of imperfect harmony from where he was racing too. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew that it couldn't be good. What was more disturbing was the complete lack of Ki in the vicinity.

He reached the location swiftly, finding himself touching down towards the center of an empty city. Completely empty except a single individual, some kind of insect creature, green with black spots, who stood waiting patiently, arms crossed over his chest. Either it had intentionally summoned them, or knew that they were coming...

"Ah. Piccolo." The creature said with a slight hiss, voice itself somewhat disturbing. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get here, and I find myself not having to have waited long indeed." The creature seemed to pause and think about that for a few moments before it chuckled. "So it seems that you sensed me, did you? Well, no matter. It's too little too late. Perhaps if you had discovered me earlier you could have averted your fate, but now you are resigned to death..."

He was cut off as both Tenshinhan and Yamcha touched town a few moments later. Another chuckle from the creature. "It seems as though the gang is all here. As I was telling Piccolo, here, if you had discovered me earlier you might have had a chance. But now, my calculations tell me that even with your use of that ridiculous Kaioken technique, the three of you cannot beat me. Ahh, but where are my manors. My name is Cell."

Piccolo scowled. "And what manor of creature are you? We received no warning of you, so you must be something from the future."

Cell laughed out loud this time. "Piccolo. Always the clever one. Yes, I do come from the future. I was sent as an assurance that Trunks wouldn't succeed in his mission, but it seems I will be unable to assist the creator in his goals given the current state of this planet. Quite unfortunate, but I can insure that when he wins his battle with the Saiya-jins in space, this world is ready for him."

"What about..." Piccolo began.

"Why do I read as all of you? Because I am all of you, but better. All of your DNA was taken, the chromosomes broken down and analyzed. The best of every single of you was broken down, the DNA then compiled into something that represented the best of all of you. I am perfection. Human skill and techniques, Saiya-jin tenacity and raw strength, Piccolo's intelligence, skill and regeneration. Do you see why you have no chance?"

Piccolo growled, having heard enough. The creature had willingly given them every bit of information about himself. Was he that confident in his ability to win? Piccolo could feel his power. It was impressive indeed, overwhelmingly so, but between the three of them they should be able to defeat him.

The creature vanished from his site, however, and a moment later found him doubled over clutching his gut as the creature rammed his knee into his gut. He managed to twist out of the way and avoid the brunt of the Ki blast that followed, but he didn't escape it entirely unscathed, his arm incinerating midway up his bicep. He launched a blast of his own which the creature danced back and out of the way.

Piccolo roared as his arm regenerated, shooting forth from the wound. It hadn't taken a lot of energy, but it had taken a little...was the creature planning on that? Was he so calculated as to inflict just enough damage before the fight started to insure his victory?

"All at once." Tenshinhan called to the other two. "I hate to say it, but we're seriously outclassed." Yamcha murmured his agreement and Piccolo remained silent, which stated enough by itself.

The three of them launched forwards, their auras each exploding into a bright red as they activated what level of Kaioken they could sustain. For Tein and Yamcha that was a tenfold. For Piccolo it was only a twofold. The more powerful, the more quickly, one got, the harder the Kaioken was to maintain. Humans grew in power more slowly than himself and the Saiya-jins, but as a result their bodies were exceptionally well adapted to the power they had and ths they could push themselves further. Even a three times was too much for Piccolo to handle, technically, but his regeneration negated the damage. It burned through his stamina and ki, of course, but he could maintain it without causing damage to himself. It still left him as the strongest of the three, but not by leaps and bounds.

Piccolo arrived first and spun low with a sweeping kick which Cell easily leapt over, countering with a downward punch at the Namek. Piccolo as able to raise his arms and block the punch but let out a grunt of pain from the force of it. Cell was about to follow up before he had to hop back to avoid a charging kick from Tien, right into the path of Yamcha's spirit ball which colided with the side of his head. Cell growled as it made a second attempt before backhanding it and sending it crashing into Tien who was coming towards him before Yamcha could regain control of it.

Piccolo leapt over Tien and threw both of his hands forwards. "Demon blast!" The destructive ki exploded on Cells chest kicking up a wave of dust and smoke. Cell explosively powered up a little blowing all of it away.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. I'm glad to have your Cells in me." He chuckled once more before dashing forwards and under Yamcha's spirit ball, crashing into the warriors chest with both feet and kicking off to soar into the sky. Yamcha flew back nearly half a mile, crashing through building after building.

Cell spun and blasted off, racing away from the three. Not to be left behind, each took off after him.

"Where's he going?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"He's heading for..." Tien started, as Piccolo accelerated fast enough to speed past them.

"Capsule Corp. We have to hurry."

...

"Well now." Cell hissed, floating over the large dome building that rested below. "Home of the one that necessitated my creation. I suppose I should feel some sense of gratitude, but all I can feel is an overwhelming hatred and desire to kill. Your adult self, your young self. It doesn't matter. My primary objective is to wipe you out of existence."

He held up his hand, channeling energy into it. "Well. Good bye then, Trunks."

"Kaioken x3!"

As he was about to release the blast, he felt a kick slam into the side of his head, sending him flying out of the limits of the city and into the country side beyond. Before he recovered, Piccolo was on top of him, slamming fist into him over and over again, driving him further and further into the ground. After a few moments, Cell lazily reached up and grabbed an oncoming swing.

"Really now, Piccolo? Do you actually expect that to hurt me?"

Piccolo smirked. "Wasn't supposed to."

That's when Cell heard the fated: "TRIBEAM!" as Piccolo dove out of the way. With Tien's Kaioken behind it, and his life force infusing it, it was an attack beyond anything else. He doubted Cell could use it, as it required a level of enlightenment that went beyond simple DNA or even martial arts. There's a reason Tein had never taught it to anyone else.

Cell's aura exploded around him as he powered up to full strength and blasted out of the way as the attack bore down and carved a square into the Earth. He had almost cleared the blast when he felt a ball of solid ki slam into hit side and knock him backwards. He growled Yamcha's name as he righted himself, but not quick enough as the beam seared off his left leg and tail. He howled with pain, crumpling into a heap a short distance away.

Yamcha was the first to touch down, walking towards Cell. "Not so tough." He said with false bravado as he leveled his hand towards Cell to finish him off.

"YAMCHA! NO!" Tien rushed forwards, but wasn't quick enough as Cell twisted over. "Makankōsappō!" Time seemed to dilate as Piccolo watched in horror, as Tien called out "Kaioken x20!" and as Yamcha tried to move out of the way. It wasn't enough. A Senzu bean would have been able to heal almost any damage. Cell knew that. That's why the blast took Yamcha's head.

Tien rushed passed Yamcha's falling form and plowed a fist into Cell's gut. His power at Kaioken x20 matched Cell's full strength perfectly, but cell wasn't at full strength any more. Cell doubled over from the impact and was sent hurling away as Tien didn't left up. He crashed into Cell again and again, hammering into him with everything that he had. Finally, he held his hands before him to finish the monster off before he ran out of stamina, knowing full well that the Tribeam at Kaioken x20 and his current state of exhaustion was likely to kill him.

"Kikoh..." His voice failed him as a stark pain suddenly ripped through his chest, warm blood trickling down from where a syringe like tail had suddenly implanted itself.. A moment later, he felt his strength start to drain. "Piccolo...you've got to..." He didn't finish as he passed out from the lost Ki, and was dropped to the ground.

"Well. That was unsatisfying. Better than that city, I suppose. As I thought, Kaioken increases the potency of the Ki you already has, it doesn't give you any more. I only got his almost useless base strength." He laughed. "Still. I was feeling a little thirsty, and I think I've got more than enough to finish you off, now, Piccolo. And you'll make a much better snack."

He was injured, but so was Piccolo. He took a step towards the Namekian, and then another. Before he could close the distance, however, he was taken surprise by the too manyith time that day.

"Leave Sensei alone!" Came the roar accompanied by an axe kick to the head, face planting Cell into the ground with surprising force. He grumbled as he rolled away and then blasted backwards and too his feet, taking in his assaulter...which turned out to be a strange looking, but not any older than, ten year old girl. Dark brown, almost black, spiky hair hung down to the back of her neck freely. Her skin tone was tan, with an almost metallic shine, and the eyes that intensely stared him down were a brilliant gold.

"Who the hell are you? I have no data on you."

She laughed at him. "Of course you don't." She said darkly. "I was a secret, where you come from. And it's biologically impossible for me to exist here."

"Who. Are. You?" Cell growled.

"Your Death." She replied simply, hair and aura exploding into a bright gold, the usual teal eyes of the transformation instead being replaced by a glowing emerald green. Holding her hands towards him, she flexed her fingers, causing electricity to rush out and consume Cell, rushing around and through him. He yelled in pain as the torrent of energy fried him inside and out. He struggled to break out, but it was no use.

"You like this technique? Bet you don't know it. Master Roshi only used it once, and far before your time. But it was his most powerful." She said gleefully, continuing to roast Cell alive. After a few minutes she allowed the technique to drop, and with a flick of her wrist the remained of her Super Saiya-jin power was unleashed in a golden blast, as it left her body her hair and eyes returning to their natural color. The blast overtook Cell and exploded in a massive, but concentrated blast, after which nothing remained of the creature.

She panted, sweat on her features. "He was...strong."

Piccolo walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You did good. Now let's get Tien to get fixed up, and send someone to get Yamcha. You don't need to see this."

She shook her head. "No. I do. We have to honor the fallen, not turn away in disgust or fear."

Piccolo nodded consent and walked forwards to pick up Yamcha, even as the girl picked up Tien.

"I'm proud of you, Aria. I'm sure your father would be too."

...

AN: Alright. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Got a little present, for those of you that are curious: The reason why SSj differs person to person: Gohan has almost no training with his SSj, so it's a fairly low power boost, comparitively speaking. Vegeta has spent most of his time in SSj, so he's coming fairly close to unlocking it's full power. Trunks has increased his SSj as a side effect of unlocking the higher forms. Aria's is a result of parentage granting her early ease of control with the form. (These are Max powers, of course. They greatly fluctuated during the fights. Cell could have easily beaten Piccolo and the humans if he had started off fighting seriously and going for the kill. Pride and huberous was his downfall.

Power Levels:

Vegeta: 150,000,000

SSj: 600,000,000

Gohan: 80,000,000

Zen: 650,000,000

SSj: 225,000,000

Trunks: 120,000,000

SSj: 440,000,000

ASSj: 550,000,000

USSj: 650,000,000

Aria: 100,000,000

SSj: 500.000,000

Cell: 500,000,000

Tien: 25,000,000

Yamcha: 20,000,000

Piccolo: 150,000,000

"Elite" Cyborg: 180,000,000

Android: 300,000,000


	17. This is War

Several months had past without further incident. Well, further beyond the par for the course, at any rate. The war was still raging through the universe. Gero's forces were adapting. Better runtimes and algorithms, they were able to counter a lot of the biologicals old tactics. But it was easier for biologicals to adapt on the fly to changing conditions and thus far they had managed. While Gero's forces were claiming more victories than the biologicals at this point, the blow that Gohan and Trunks had dealt them earlier on meant that it was an uphill battle that they wouldn't be taking unless they had a serious victory.

Gohan had discovered that his and Vegeta's hunches had been right. By training up his Super Saiya-jin, it had become more natural, easier, and more powerful. While he was still far weaker than Trunks in his Super form, training in it had the side effect of increasing the power in his base as well, which in turn increased his overall power when he tapped into his full strength. Still, because he was concentrating entirely on his Super form so that he could bring it to a point where he could access his complete power together, Trunks Stage one had almost caught up with even his strongest form, and would soon be surpassing it. He imagined Vegeta already had. For the moment, whenever himself and Trunks trained, Trunks had taken to remaining in base as the difference between his base and Gohan's Super was less than their Supers being compared.

It wasn't much suprise to him when he got the Call.

"Brat."

"Lord." Gohan said with a bow of respect.

"It's time. Our scouts indicates Gero's forces are amassing."

Gohan nodded. "How'd you get his attention focused on Namek?"

Vegeta chuckled. "Remember how we were loosing more men than them?"

"Yeah."

"Well. Our men came back." Vegeta said with ammusement.

Gohan thought about that for a minute before it clicked. "You mean you're using the dragonballs to resurrect our fallen troops?"

"That's right. Our army can be refreshed to 100% at any time. Namek's balls are on a shorter cooldown than your earths, and they seem to reset even faster when you only use one wish at a time. Every two months we can reset our army to full strength."

"Because Namek doesn't have restrictions on bringing back the same person more than one...Vegeta, that's brilliant."

"And it means Gero can't win unless he takes Namek, regardless of how the war goes. He has to make his move, and he has to do it in the next two months."

Gohan was about to respond, but he was distracted as Trunks entered the room.

"Ah. Good to see you, boy. You and Gohan are ordered back to Namek. It's time to win this thing."

Trunks shook his head. "No. Gohan and yourself will be more than enough. I'll remain here to guard this section."

Vegeta scowled. "That was an order. The station is unimportant."

Trunks shrugged. "No. I'll be remaining here. Trust me, Father, the station is extremely important for the future. If you lose it, you lose a very strategic resource."

Vegeta seemed like he was going to argue, but decided against it. He knew that he would be a fool to ignore a warning from the future. If Trunks said the station was that important, then Vegeta wouldn't be the one to shoot himself in the foot. "Fine. It's on your head. Don't fail me."

Trunks gave him a mock sallute before turning and walking out of the room.

"As for you, Brat, I expect you here within the month."

Gohan kneeled. "As you wish, Lord. I'll be there soon."

Vegeta signed off and Gohan sighed before rising, turning to walk out into the corridor beyond.

"Important things happening?" A sweet, controlled voice found him.

His heart skipped a beat as he turned, unable to stop the slight smile from brightening his stern face. "Yeah. Looks like this is it."

She walked up to him and looked down, smiling at him. "I know. I got the reports myself." Before he could react, she swept down and kissed him on the cheek. "You'll do great. Come back to me alive, Knight."

As he was quite accustomed to doing at this point, Gohan found himself blushing rather furiously as he took a few steps back...even if it wasn't as many as he used to take. "Your new ship has been finished. As you might expect, it has been refined a great deal since the last model. You'll find one of the features of the training room quite...interesting. Try not to overdo it."

He opened his mouth to question it, but she was already walking away. He shrugged and turned on heal himself. He had to get more training in before the final battle.

It wasn't a long trip to the ship. The sites and sounds of everything on the station was something he had grown accustom to. The slight buzzing of some of the minitors, that flickering light they never bothered to fix. People running this way and that doing whatever it was they did for the war effort. It was a buzzing little command station in the center of the quadrant, and for better or worse, it had become home for him.

He took one last look around as he stepped into his ship, a part of him...no, all of him, gratful that Trunks would be here to protect the station; to protect Zaula. He might be young, but by this point, he couldn't imagine himself caring about anyone else the same way that he cared about her. He wondered if Saiya-jins had some form of...imprinting? That humans lacked. Whatever it was, he just couldn't get her out of his head.

He looked around and realized, that, even without him controlling his body he had already taken himself to the training room. More importantly, the ship felt as though it was taking off. Apparently Zaula had counted on his absentmindedness and had already plotted his course for him. It was...sweet.

He walked to the console and looked down on it. His hands danced across the console as he turned the gravity up to 200g, enough to get in some light warm up before he got serious. The gravity rapidly climbed to his chosen setting and he felt it pulling heavily on his body, but shrugged through it effortlessly in his Super form. His eyes fell on a red button that had been installed. No description, just a new function. Curiously, he activated it.

The result was...unexpected, and he let out a yelp as he felt a surge shoot through his body. His energy began to fluctuate randomly as odd waves of power radiated from the structure of the room, and he had to fight to keep his energy under control. With a slight smile he sat down in a meditative pose and focused himself.

'I see. A function to destabilize my energy, forcing me to maintain my control while I do other things. Zaula accounted for the fact that I'd be without a partner to train with, and thus real external threat, on the trip back and designed a function to give me the stress I wouldn't be able to effectively generate.' He smirked. 'I'm guessing the principal is pretty simple in concept. It radiates an artificial Ki similar to what the cyborgs and androids use. It interferes with my ability to maintain my Ki at a constant level as it distorts the ki running through my body and in the space around me, and the constant buzzing and changing of sound frequencies as well as the rapid fluctuations in temperature is tearing my concentration to shreds. This should greatly help me master Super Saiya-jin. If I can manage to maintain a constant level through this, maintaining Super Saiya-jin without this kind of interference will come as natural as breathing.'

...

Earth. 6 weeks later.

"Looks like this is the last one." A little Bra smiled as she dropped a dragonball into the pile. She was pleased with herself, as she had gotten that one away from a nest of dinosaurs all by herself. Master Piccolo, Tien and Yamcha had all been training her when they had time, but Aria had become her full time teacher. She was her favorite!

"Good job Bra." Aria smiled down at the girl and rubbed her head affectionately. "You should go home. You're playmate will be getting bored without you."

Bra shook her head stubbornly. "No! She's already got to see the Dragon. I was to see him."

Aria laughed. "Alright, alright. You can stay. Just as stubern as I hear your father is, arn't you?"

Bra had something of a far off look in her eye, and Aria chided herself. She had never got to meet her father, and it was mostly Aria's fault. Save the universe, cost a young girl interaction with her father in her early years. It almost broke her heart. "Hey. I'm sor.."

"Don't be!" Bra smiled up at her. "Daddies up there saving us from a bunch of bad guys! That's how I know he loves me!" Aria smilled back. The mind of a child was simple, but if she had that kind of a positive outlook on things, Aria wouldn't be the one to take it away from her. "Alright kiddo. Stick around and watch the show."

...

Vegeta was waiting on him when the airlock opened, a smirk on his face. "Your timing couldn't be better. It seems as though Gero's army is almost on top of us." He paused, taking Gohan in. "You're not in Super Saiya-jin. Does this mean..."

Gohan nodded. "You'll see. If we're up against the type of forces I'm used to fighting, it would take an extraordinary number to beat me."

Vegeta nodded. "Well, don't let that go to your head. A large number of them have been upgraded, and our reports indicate that there's a new model, Icejin in looks, that even full squads of our super elites can't bring down. While individually they may be no match for us, it looks like we might have our work cut out for us. Still, our army is fully assembled, as I'm sure Gero's will be."

Gohan nodded, following Vegeta as the King turned on heal and walked into the base. "What are the size of our forces?"

Vegeta didn't pause. "Our forces number near six hundred thousand strong. Gero's number closer to two hundred thousand."

Gohan scowled. "If it was just left to our armies fighting, he'd surely win. But I get the point. I'll knock out One hundred and fifty thousand of them, including the new model, so our boys can stay sharp and handle the rest. You can sit here and look pretty. Don't want the old man throwing his back out."

Vegeta stopped and glared at him before continuing down the hall. "This old man is inclined to order you to sit on the benches and watch him single handedly take on everything, but I'm going to pretend you didn't just behave like a 3rd class fool and allow you to take part."

They crossed through another door and Gohan had to stop as Vegeta paused. He was about to comment before he looked up and ahead, beyond the stage that they had walked on. He felt his voice fail him and his breath taken away as he saw in the air an army of many different races, six hundred thousand strong. To hear the numbers was one thin, to see them floating in space before him was an entirely different matter.

Vegeta stepped forwards to deliver his speech to the assembled army.

...

The alarms sounded, and Trunks instantly knew that his decision to stay behind was the right one. He rushed through the station without pause to get to the high density scanners, bringing up the long range sensors. What he saw on them greatly confused him. There was a single, poweful, energy source racing towards the station, but that didn't match the MO of Gero's war tactics. Was he so confident in this single creation to handle whatever resistance he encountered here...or had he simply assumed that all the Saiya-jins would be at Namek?

No. Gero was smarter than that. He suspected all the Saiya-jins would be on Namek, but he had made allocations that one would remain behind, and had sent something strong enough to single handedly handle that lone defender. And a lone defense it would be. All of their own fighting force had been pulled to Namek to the man, save Trunks.

He growled as he blasted out of the room and into space, tossing Zaula a comforting glance as he shot by. He had become good friends with Gohan, and despite what he had told him, he had known him well in the future. Gohan had been his mentor before he had died, Zaula had been a second mother. He would be damned if he allowed anything to happen to her, for both Gohan's and his own sake. He had made a promise, a promise that he intended to keep. Aria would not grow up without a mother.

He hovered almost a hundred miles away from the station, waiting on the oncoming force which closed the distance quickly. An aura of power exploded as his foe suddenly brought itself to a stop, tail snapping past it with continued momentum, a bored look on it's face, Ice-jin features clear.

"Cooler." Trunks muttered darkly, his aura exploding golden as his hair spiked wildly around his head, instantly transforming into his Super Saiya-jin stage 2 form. He could tell by the slight flicker of emotion on the creatures face that this wasn't just a replication, this was the real deal. The monster that had killed Gohan and Vegeta in the future was here now, and Trunks felt some small sense of fate. He would never get the chance to save his future, it was destroyed for good. But he could stop the monster that had been the key weapon in it's destruction. The one that had crushed their greatest hopes under its foot.

There were no further words exchanged between the two of them, instead both vanished from view as explosions of colliding force lit up the depths of space.

...

From his perspective, the universe had become the embodiment of chaos. the region of space they were floating in was filled with millions of Ki blasts being launched in rapid fashion, in every direction imaginable. The fight was a clusterfuck, to say the least, every force having to bob, weave and dance through energy blasts just to engage their opponent. They had extensive training in not hitting each other in mass combat, but there was no amount of training that prepared you for these numbers.

Jomes squad dived forwards, a channeled spirit bomb rushing over their heads from Asha nuking an Android class that had been breaking off from a fight with another squad to engage them, that squad deftly shooting out of the range of the resulting explosion. They might not be able to account for each and every blast, but they were trained well enough not to hit each other with artillery strikes.

Jones dived on top of an elite model, stabbing it through it's core possessor as Bass briefly engaged a 1st class that tried to jump him, his full Kaioken giving him the ability to match it for a few moments, long enough for Asakawa and Michael to drop the shield they had combined and thrown up to protect Jones from the assault of blasts during his assasiation to spin around and unleash a combined energy wave that drove stunned the bot long enough for Bass to have time to finish it off with a blast of his own.

Instinct kicked into gear in time for Jones to kick off the bot he had just put down and tackle Asakawa out of the way of an energy absorption model that attempted to latch on to her. A heartbeat later no fewer than twenty blasts tore the assaulter to pieces from nearby squads as they took advantage in a lull in their own fights. Another heartbeat later found those same squads reengaged with renewed fights.

He was blindsided as Bass crashed into him from behind and sent the two of them tumbling, the Namek's Kaioken faltering as he lost his control on it from the impact of the blow. Tactics and skill let them bring down the much stronger opponents, but there were very few of them that could survive even a single attack from an Android class model.

It only took a few moments for him to recover, but it was a few moments too long. He felt himself forcibly grabbed by Bass and thrown to the side even as the Namek was torn apart by powerful energy blasts from multiple sources. No time to greave, he twisted around back to back with his squad that had fallen in, each of the three taking point around Asha protecting their artillery from harm. They felt the call for their energy and instictively responded, and instant later hearing the cry "SPIRIT SHELL!" and a glowing blue sphere sprung to life around them fending off the oncoming energy blasts from five bots of different classifications and models.

Even with their combined energy being channeled through Asha and into the protective wall, they felt their energy reserves quickly draining as the far superior droids hammered down on them. Sensing blood in the water more and more droids broke off to take them down. 10, 20, 30.

All of them were taxed. Micheal was the first to run dry, having to cut off his energy to leave himself with enough to keep himself alive. Asakawa went down next. He growled as he pushed everything he had into it. "KAIOKEN TIMES TWENTY!" His power roared through his body and then almost imidiately into the shield, the energy sapped almost as quickly as it had came.

The shield flickered once, a blast slipping through and almost taking Asha's arm clean off. She grunted through the pain as dropplets of blood flowed into space and managed to bring the shield back up for another moment saving Jones from one that would have taken his life.

The oncoming Volley would be the last, and he watched on with resignation, time seeing to slow down as his death approached. But just like that, a golden figure twisted and danced through, deflecting the hundreds of blasts back at their origin points before rocketing forwards and in but a few moments reducing the force that had almost annihilated them into nothing with little effort.

Their Lord gave them a dismissing sweep of the hand before he blasted off back into the fray signaling them to fall back, rest and regroup before they got themselves killed. As much as it irritated him to fall back when others were still fighting, But he wasn't about to disobey a direct order, and their lord was right. They were useless for the moment. He was growing worried, though. He had seen the sweat, and worse, the blood on Lord Vegeta. If they weren't loosing this battle, they were barely winning.

...

Vegeta was scowling as he ripped the head off of an Ice-jin model android, crushing it in his fist before blasting the body to pieces. A wave of his hand blocked and deflected a few dozen blasts that had flown towards him taking a few handful of rank and file droids down in a scattering of explosions.

He twisted threw a quick beam to his right to explode an Android model that was charging towards him, but let out a curse as he realized it had been a distraction cast aside as a ten Ice-jin models had managed to close in on him and unleash blasts from all different angles.

He rushed forwards feeling the searing pain burn as he twisted past one and a second drilled into his back and exploded. He tore the two that he reached to pieces with only a little effort but had to deflect another oncoming wave, a few of which managed to score a few indirect burns crossed his chest and right leg causing him to let out a growl of pain, and in his distraction on managed to dirve on him and grab him in a hold. He struggled to break out of it, but despite the droids weaker strength it had the advantage of angle. He looked on in anger as the other seven actually took a few moments to charge up beams before blasting them in a combined torrent that would be more than sufficent to finish him off.

He struggled more and more, slowly starting to break the hold, but it wasn't fast enough. Fortunately for Vegeta it wouldn't have to be as his halfbreed Knight was suddenly in the path of the combined beam, gripping on to it and trying to force it away with sheer might even as it pushed him back.

He had almost reached Vegeta when there was a sudden explosion of power that shot through him, his hair shooting up into the spikes indicitive of Super Saiya-jin without the color change that normally came with it. Even the brats fierce aura remained the neutral white of his base.

New power flooding through him, Gohan was able to not only overpower the torrent of energy but with a yell of exertion, not emotion, pour enough of his own energy forth to blow the four droids apart.

He quickly was behind Vegeta, ripping the droid that had latched on to his back appart like it was a piece of paper.

"How are we faring Vegeta?" No time for snide remarks or pleasantries.

"I don't know, brat. We've lost over half of our forces, but so have they." He paused for a very brief moment for a scanner like screen to flash across his left eye before fading again. "we're down to 168,000 troops, give or take a few thousand. Their forces are down to just over seventy thousand."

Gohan grinned. "Guess I'll just have to finish off the rest, eh? Keep up old man!" And then he was gone, dancing through the enemy forces, his knights strength having completely and utterly surpassed his own.

...

"What's up?" Gohan stated with some distraction as he tore through a few more droids and deflected some blasts. Even with his full power, he was still taking a few hits, still suffering a little damage. It the battle kept up long enough, even he would find himself slowly drained, and having to counter that blast earlier wasn't helping. It's total power had almost matched his own; it had taken a noticeable amount of his power to counter it.

"I just thought I'd inform you of the situation on this end. Cooler himself came to the station to try to eliminate it. Trunk's instincts were right."

Gohan paused momentarily and was awarded a blast to the back of the head for his distraction. He grunted with pain before firing his rebuttal and erasing the offender from existence and shooting off to stay mobile. "How's he holding up? Are you alright?"

"Well..."

...

Trunks broke free from the power struggle and delivered a devastating kick to the side of Cooler's head sending his rocketing away. He couldn't help but smirk. He had managed to surpass the creature that had single handedly put down the two strongest fighters in his universe, despite their working in tandem. Cooler was slowly loosing and...why was is grinning at him?

"I must say." His robotic voice carried through the distance. Well, "voice" not exactly right, as it was utilizing ki manipulation to create kiwaves similar to sound waves in order to stimulate the ear drums in the same fashion. "I hadn't thought that I would receive a challenge, even in this restricted form. Thank you for the amusement, but..."

He was cut off as Trunks unleashed a massive wave of power that exploded on contact. He knew better. If his opponent thought he was just going to stand idly by while he transformed into a stronger state, he had another thing coming...and another.

Trunks ascended into his stage two form and continued to unleash volley after volley of blasts.

...

Bra looked on excitedly as the dragoballs pulsed and then exploded with a massive of golden power that spiraled up into the air. It was breathtaking at the sky turned black and the energy twisted around itself until it materialized into a massive dragon hanging into the air.

"You who have summoned me, what is your wish?" She squalled with glee as she stepped forwards and then stopped and glanced back at Aria hesitantly.

The older girl chuckled. "It's alright Bra, you know what needs to happen."

Bra nodded and swallowed deeply, working up her courage. "Well, Mr. Dragaon, we wish..."

...

"That's great!" Gohan smiled despite the carnage that was raging on around him, knowing that Trunks was winning his own fight against Gero's single, strongest, asset. If they could deal with the numbers here, that would be the end of things. Gero's entire force decimated beyond repair. There would be no counter retort from the doctor.

He was cut off as a massively powerful fist caught him in the face and sent him flying back, blood spraying from his face as he was sure he lost a tooth and almost broke his nose. He flipped in the air to face what had caught him off guard to come face to face with a massive green humanoid. Orange hair hung down it's back and a large scar crossed his chest. Cybernetic implants were scouring his body, but the most important fact was that he had a certain Saiya-jin king, dropped to his base state and unconscious, held in his grasp by the throat.

"Who the hell are you?" Gohan asked quitely.

"I was once Bojack, ruler of the West Galaxy, but that designation no longer has any meaning to me. I am now Dr. Gero's personal body guard." Sure enough, the good doctor was floating a short distance behind this...thing. This thing that was strong enough to actually hurt him directly. Around him, he noticed that the war was waning down, and what little of it that was left was clearing away from them as the droids moved away and the biologicals had to move with them to continue the fight.

"It seems as though you're loosing, Gero. It won't be long..."

"Until your army defeats mine? Quite, though only because you recently brought back every resource you lost during this war. Still, I can't complain about using every tactic you have." He laughed darkly. "It doesn't matter, though. Bojack here will deal with you as he dealt with your "Lord", and then there won't be enough of your army left to stop him, and they'll fall one by one."

He tried to rebuttal, but was unable to as Bojack dropped Vegeta and was on him, driving his fist into his gut. Gohan was able to block the first blow, but wasn't quick enough to stop the elbow that crashed into the side of his heat and blew him back several dozen meters. Before he could recover Bojack was on him once more, every hit like a mountain crashing into him. When he was finally knocked away he spat blood. This...thing...was stronger than he was. Stronger than even his full strength.

He didn't have a choice. He'd have to give if everything he had. He held his arm behind his back and began condencing all the energy he had left to give into it. Even if it cost him his life, even if it cost Vegeta his, if he was able to destroy this "Bojack" here, then their army would win, Trunks would win, and this nightmare would be over. After that, they could just be wished back. But he. Had. To. Win. This. Fight.

As Bojack dived forwards to continue the assault, Gohan drove his fist upwards with all the ki he had managed to collect and rammed it into Bojacks chest at point blank range where it detonated in a massive explosion, launching him away.

He floated some distance away, strength spent, body basically beaten up. "Sorry...about that." He whispered as best as he could. "Someone...really strong...showed up."

"Are you alright?" It was her turn to be worried.

He laughed, as much as it hurt. "I don't think I'll be seeing you for a little while. Make sure they wish us back." He had brought up the visual, wanting to see her, some part of him seeking comfort. Instead he got a shocked face and tears.

"No. You can't die like this. What if something goes wrong? What if we can't wish you back?"

"Hey...No. It's going to be fine. Trunks will take care of i...oh. Oh no."

"What? What is it?"

"I didn't get him. His weakened, but...I'm sorry."

"You can't die! You're the man I...

...

Trunks breathed heavily, dropping out of his stage two form, and even past his stage one form, into his basic Super form, most of his energy spent. He had given everything he had to make sure he didn't get overwhelmed by someone elses transformation, and as the smoke cleared he saw he had managed to accomplhish his goal.

Cooler floated in space, just half a head, neck, part of a chest and an arm. The lights in his eyes flickered, machine components were slowly shutting off one by one as his lack of a generator or biological ki caused them to run dry.

"Shouldn't have held back." He chided as he slowly floated fowards to finish the job.

"And you shouldn't take the time to gloat. My core is in my chest." Was the angry retort as a deathball almost instantly came to life in his arm.

Trunks braced to deflect it, sure he could manage, but was blindsided by the fact it wasn't coming towards him, instead it raced down and towards the station. He couldn't move fast enough, there was no way to stop it. But he had to try. He shot back into his stage two form, summoning all the energy he had to rush forwards with as much speed as possible, but it wasn't enough.

He reached his hand forwards as he closed in. If he could just touch it, just detonate it early, maybe the shields... but even as he was on the brink of touching it, it collided with the station, erasing it from existence, consuming it entirely with the force of the blast before continuing on and flying into the depths of space. He didn't take much damage despite his proximity as there what explosion came from the station was absorbed by the Death Ball, but rage exploded through him, pushing his power higher and higher as he turned around and slowly drifted towards Cooler. There was nothing left for him to take away. He could take his time with his revenge.

...

"We wish..." Bra had just started.

"That Cooler was here." A hissing voice spoke clearly from behind them.

Aria instantly exploded into super Saiya-jin and shot backwards and she twisted to face Cell, whom she knew was 15 yards to her southwest, only to be greeted by his hands against his temples. "Taiyoken!"

The explosion of light blinded her and caused her to loose control of her direction, none of which was helped by the fact she received a kick to the spine and was launched in she didn't even know which direction from the action.

As her vision slowly cleared up, she could only watch in horror as a half destroyed robot was sucked into Cell's tail and brilliant gold exploded around him, hiding him from view.

...

"lo..." And there was a brilliant flash of light over the screen before nothing but static.

"...Za...ula?" He whispered. No response. He tried hailing the station, only to find it wasn't responding, that the signals weren't even seeming to reach it. "...Zaula..."

Something in him snapped. For all his Zen, for all his tranquil mastery of his form, it wasn't enough. Rage and grief of loss exploded through him despite himself, and he instantly flashed into Super Saiya-jin. Not his tapping into it's power through his Zen, but the furious golden haired, teal eyed variety. But it didn't stop. His anger rose higher and higher until even his Super form couldn't contain it and he exploded beyond.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. ASSj and USSj: ASSj can forciably unlcok some of FPSSj without mastering Basic SSj fully. The trade off is the stamina drain. USSj is similar but different in that it just takes the strength one has and amplifies it, though at the draw back of massive drain and limitation of mobility and flexibility.

Vegeta: 360,000,000

SSj: 1,100,000,000

Gohan: 300,000,000

Zen: 1,000,000,000

SSj: 600,000,000

Full Zen: 1,600,000,000

SSj2: ?,?,?,?

Trunks: 200.000,000

SSj: 750,000,000

ASSj: 800,000,000

USSj: 1,300,000,000

Bojack: 1,700,000,000

Cooler: 780,000,000

Cooler 5th (Not reached): 1,200,000,000

Cell: 500,000,000

Perfect Cell: ?,?,?,?


	18. In the End

There were no words. There were no thoughts. There was only overpowering, over riding rage. Gohan speed blitz forwards and planted his working fist into Bojacks stomach, causing him to double over, and twisted around to spin kick him in the side of the head and launch him away. His fist was almost instantaneously glowing and hurdling energy blast after energy blast at his foe. Almost as an afterthought, he released one towards Gero before the scientist could get his absorbers on, completely obliterating everything but half of his head.

The explosions cleared and Bojack was left floating in space, oozing blood and mechanical fluid. Parts of his body were blown clean away leaving jagged holes and tears while much of his body was covered in burns. He let out a terrific roar as he charged most of his power into his arms and unleashed a massive torrent of power capable of obliterating Vegeta or Trunks.

But Vegeta or Trunks Gohan was not, and with only a minor amount of effort he backhanded the blast sending it rushing out into the depths of space before he slowly started floating towards Bojack, rage everlasting whirling within his body. Bojack fired blast after blast, sweat building on his features with effort, only to have each of them blown away as the Angle of Death descended on him, ignoring the beeping of his communication device.

...

Trunks floated in space, his rage whooshing away a few moments after his target did. He frantically looked around and was unable to find hide nor hair of his opponent. His exhaled loudly and let his rage explode, literally, burning off a lot of ki before allowing his transformation to fade back to basic SSj, reality sinking in as he looked around space and realized there was no station, there was no surviving ship.

"Oh Hell." He muttered to no one in particular.

He thought about it long and hard, the placement of various ships, planets, forces, and his mind unfortunately arrived at the same conclusion for each; They were simply too far away for him to be able to get any help. He was quite on his own, and under his own power there was nowhere safe he could get.

He was going to die, cold and alone in space, having completely failed, the target of his rage having escaped his wrath.

He laughed long and hard about the futility of it. He had destroyed the Androids with no problem, he had helped to free this time from the destruction his own faced. Near Namek the fate of the universe was raging, but he was sure that they would win. As for him? He faced death in the depths of space for his failure, for underestimating his opponent. His dad would be ashamed of him.

He tapped his com and tried to raise Vegeta so he could update him on the situation and say goodbye, finding no response. He tried Gohan, to the same results. Worried flooded his mind as he realized that the situation on their end must have been quite dire if they weren't responding to his attempts at communication.

He sighed in resignation one final time as he floated, maintaining his grasp on his oxygen and settling into meditation as he slowed his breathing. He would wait for the outcome of the war before he relinquished his life. He certainly had enough oxygen and willpower to hold on long enough to know that everything was going to be ok.

...

Cell stood tall and proud, in a form that none of them recognized. He was the stuff of legends, all of the Cell's of the strongest warriors and races compacted in him body. His eyes glanced around the lookout, and he took his opponents in. A smirk came to his face as they moved to engage him. All it took was raising his ki to blow the weakest away, a quick follow up Kiai and the rest stumbled back and had to get their bearings. The innately strongest of them, a little girl, stood her ground against his Kiai and powered through to punch him in the face, which earned her the slightest tilting back of his head as he didn't so much as move his arms from crossing his chest.

Her follow up kick, augmented by a ki blade, punctured his torso and tore out his back earning a flicker of pain before he knocked her through the lookout with a backhand and with no effort regenerated the wound. His eyes fell on Piccolo who stood back looking on, able to exceed the girl but choosing not too as he sensed the differences in power. He knew Piccolo well. The Namek wouldn't use a technique that would quickly sap his strength without a plan of attack.

The girl rushed out from a few yards in front of him, exploding from within the lookout only to be stopped as he held out his hand and concentrated his telekinesis inherited from Frieza and Cooler. In this timeline he may be trapped on this rock, but in his own time he had access to Cells from most races in this quadrant of the galaxy. More so, Cooler was part of him now, giving him complete mastery over all of the Androids techniques. With his massive power, holding down someone that wasn't even a fourth of his power was childs play.

"As amusing as this is." He began, staring on with amusement. "It's hardly a testament to my powers. More so, with that shield trapping me here, and having gauged it's strength, I'm aware of the fact that I'll be trapped here for at least the next year while the dragonballs regenerate."

He tossed the girl away and she had the good sense to not rush in again just yet, letting him finish. "As such, I see fit to give you time to train and then come challenge me. You see, I have no intention of being bored, and as I am confident Gero has won the war in space or will do so soon, there will be no one out there of appropriate strength for me either. Therefore, you will have to do. The dragonballs will be ready in a year, therefore you have Ten months to train yourselves to your hearts content. If you win..." He laughed. "Well, when I win, I'll slowly exterminate the population of this until the dragonballs recharge at which point I'll wish myself off this hunk of rock and become overlord of the Universe. The frost demon in me demands that much."

They didn't get a rebuttal. Cell blasted off to find himself a nice area to compose an arena.

...

Tick. Tick. Tick. The sound of the clocking ticking in his head, the sounds of the drums beating in his head. Blood was demanded. Revenge was demanded. Victory was demanded. A primal roar echoed through space as energy exploded from him in the form of hundreds of ki balls, each of which rained out and outright annihilated most of the remaining droid army. The ones that weren't outright killed were damaged and stunned long enough for his own army to finish.

And he laughed. He laughed at the blood, laughed at how insignificant everyone was before him. " I'll bring Zaula back. I'll bring everyone who was killed back. I will destroy every remnant of your army, your empire." He floated forwards towards what little was left of Gero's head. The one remainder of the battle. "I AM LIFE! I AM DEATH! I HOLD THIS UNIVERSE IN MY HAND AND I WILL SAVE IT!"

Gero sputtered and laughed mechanically, it echoing as his circuits shorted in and out. "A fail safe. I always had a trump card. One I couldn't control. But it doesn't matter now. I'm dead, and so are you. So is everything and everyone. You think you're a God of Life and Death? Behold what I've created."

Gohan lashed out and blew Gero's head away with an overly intense show of force, but it was too late. The signal was out. In the distance one of Gero's ships exploded as an immense form busted through it. The humanoid creature was huge, and a sheer wall of muscle. His hair was the Gold of a super Saiya-jin, but in an insanely large and spiky pattern. Telling was that his body was covered in cybernetics and implants. Worst was his laughter, his insane, maniacal laughter that seemed to reverberate through space.

Enraged Gohan lashed forwards with a preemptive Masenko which raced forwards and swallowed the crazy Super Saiya-jin, swallowing him in it's massive size. After only a few moments though a fist exploded from within the front of his beam and into Gohan's gut causing him to spit up blood and fly miles backwards though space.

All it took was that one punch to bring him back to reality. Whoever he was dealing with was insanely powerful, far above and beyond any power he had ever possessed, far above and beyond anything he had ever felt. Even at full power, this cyborg Saiya-jin would have out matched and quickly obliterated him.

The massive person was once more in front of him, slamming a fist forwards. He managed to get a guard up in time only to feel as though his arm shattered under the impact and he was sent hurtling backwards by it's force. There was nothing he could do. For all his advancements, achievements, for all of his breaking his own limits and mastering himself, this random Saiya-jin was his greater.

"DIE INSECT!" The mad Saiya-jin roared, launching a massive green ball of energy towards him. Gohan wouldn't have had the strength to counter it at full power, let alone now. Luckily for him, he hadn't been idle in his travels and had learned many new things. With a flex of ki, he brought a triangulated, solid Kaia in front of him. The green blast impacted against it, before following natural flow, seperating evenly and flying to each side. Concentrating Ki in such a way allowed him to only have to counter a much smaller total ki output than the totality of the enemies expenditure.

A short distance from him the two haves exploded, consuming him and once more launching him away, clothes burnt, body battered; bloody. It was a defense against beams. Against exploding attacks, well, it had just saved his life... but not by much.

More slaughtered from his opponent as the wall of muscle dived forwards to finish him off with physical attacks. He gathered what strength he had left to resist, but it was no use. He prepared himself for the end as the shadow loomed over him, a massive blue ball of Ki slammed into his side and carried him a distances away before detonating. Gohan looked over to see Vegeta, in all his battered Super Saiya-jin glory, sweat dripping off of his features.

"Hey! Legendary freak! Your fights over here!"

The smoke cleared and "The Legendary Freak" was unharmed, save a few minor scorch marks.

"Oh. Prince Vegeta. I was meaning to kill you. Thanks for showing yourself. Now, you and what army plans on standing up to me?"

Another explosion crashed against him, drawing his wrath before more volleys came down on him. Gathered in space, spread apart, were the remaining squads, each of them draining their precious ki in mass quantities in order to launch spirit bomb after spirit bomb at the Legendary.

"This one! On my mark!" Jones voice cried out through the army. Spirit bombs lit up in the hands of the few dozen remaining squads. "FIRE!"

The Legendary showed the wear. In the same way Gohan couldn't single handedly take on a trained army, even the Legendary couldn't effortlessly weather the full artilary strike of what he had left. It was slowly wearing him down.

Vegeta took position in front of the army, gathering up his ki to it's limits and holding it, blowing The Legendary away when he tried to close in with a cry of "FINAL FLASH!" The torrent of golden power adding more minor injury while forcing him away and giving the army breathing room.

"HE'S ON THE ROPES! GO FOR THE KILL!" All together, all the remaining soldiers, but two, fed all of their energy into one massive spirit bomb. The other two fired off wave after wave of Tenshinhan's signature Kikoho to knock the Legendary away for them to gather their needed energy, while Vegeta at the last minute added all his remaining super Saiya-jin strength into it. And then, with a passive push, all of the pures shoved forwards with all of their might.

But it wasn't enough. The Legendary grasped hold of the massive sphere as it bore down on him, the sphere comprised not just of the power of the army, but of the Sun and of Namek below, and he resisted it. He held it. He began forcing it back. Step by step, the pures lost their bearings, feeling it coming back to the army slowly.

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH!" Gohan roared, pumping his energy to the max and racing forwards. Remembering his father, he forced all the power he had remaining into a Kamehameha through his feat, rocketing him forwards with massive speed into the Legendary's back causing him to loose his grip and both of them to be slammed forwards into the ball. A moment later it exploded, and all was dark.

...

Gohan SSj2: 1,800,000,000

Android Brolly: 3,000,000,000

Spirit Bomb: 6,000,000,000


	19. Entertainment

(A/N: Significant Credit to David (Bringer of Death) for help with the physics in this chapter)

His eyes slowly opened, a soft wind bringing him out of the darkness of where he was. His eyes took a few minutes to adjust as he took things in, a pleasent smell of dirt, grasses, leaves and barks welcoming him to conciousness. Above him light spilled through the tree tops in scattered beams. The only thing somewhat disturbing about where he found himself was that he seemed to have found himself in an uncovered grave. He started to rise before a voice called down to him, and he looked up once more to see a figure looking down on him, the only noticeably feature he could make out being silver hair.

"Well. That's unusual. It's not everyday someone wakes up from being dead." His voice was soft but distant and detached. There was some curiosity, but it was more of the idle kind than what Gohan expected to come from a living creature. He finished standing and dusted some of the dirt out of his hair become floating up and landing on the ledge, taking in the person who he assumed had dug this grave for him.

To be frank, the teen looked half dead. He was only a little taller than Gohan, and his body seemed to suffer from malnutrition, skin tight and ribs clearly visible. Long silver hair spiked down his back, and bright silver eyes looked at him with idle curiosity. The oddest thing about him, though, was the few scars that crossed his face and down his body. Rather than stiched together with scar tissue, the silver shine on them seemed to indicate they had been healed by some kind of metal.

Gohan concidered this for a moment. The coloration of the hair and eyes, the metal present in scar tissues, it was likely that this teen had a high degree of some kind of metal in his body which had pigmented his eyes, hair and subbed to heal him. If it was replacing a natural healing process, that meant it had to be either superior than biological healing or replacing a weak body.

"Hahaha. Very good deductions, and partially right even." The teen said, eyes coming to rest on Gohan, seeming to actually see him for the first time. "And before you ask, yes. I can read minds. Well, surface thoughts without effort, anyways. Any deeper than that requires some force. My body is infused with a living metal, so the healing you see is semi-organic in nature. I would have died as a child without this experiment being done on me. My body remains weak, but the metal is strong..." He trailed off, some degree of his tie to the present slipping back into more passing attention. "So very strong."

"That's...interesting." Gohan said, legitimately curious. This kind of technology was beyond anything he'd encountered. Nothing in the frost demon empire was close to this. Even Gero's creations were a mix of human and robotic parts. Some kind of synthetic, living metal was a different thing entirely. How did it work, though?

"You have strange thoughts." The teens attention was once more turned fully on him. "And intelligence and curiosity I haven't seen in so very long. To answer your question, it's a symbiotic life form. It keeps me alive, enhances me, and exchange it lives through me."

"Ohh." Gohan said with a smile. "So that's why you're so skinny. Because the metal feeds off of your calories!"

The teen shook his head. "A good assumption, but not accurate. The metal feeds off of, and enhances, life force. As a synthetic creature it naturally produces little of it's own, but if it's hooked into a living thing it can both utilize and enhance their own." He paused, looking into Gohan's eyes. "Yes. "Ki", as you call it. While physically weak, for my species I possess an incredible amount of Ki. And no, I didn't read your mind to find out you're from off planet. It was just..."

Gohan tensed with some degree of confusion as he pinpointed the location of a small explosion with his Saiya-jin inherited hearing and instincts. From that spot he watched a small projectile rocket forwards, though crawl to his senses. He moved forwards to deal with it but got a glance from the teen to remain still. The projectile impacted with the side of the teens head and crumpled to the ground harmlessly, a very slight trickle of silvery red blood forming where it had impacted. Before Gohan could blink the metal had closed the wound with a swirl of action.

The teen held his hand in the direction the attack had came from and flexed his fingers unleashing an invisible kiai which ripped trees from the ground and blew whoever had tried to assassinate him into the woods. Gohan reached out with his senses and saw that whoever it was had survived the blast mostly unwounded and was taking off. Once more he moved forwards only to get stared down by the teen.

"No harm done." He said simply. "This is how they resist, how they try to feel better. I'm not going to begrudge them that. He'll scamper along home, discuss it with his people, and later today or tomorrow they'll try to ambush me with a greater show of force to the same end result."

Gohan's eyes lit up with concern and curiosity. "Why? And who are you?"

The teen smiled sadly. "The answer is one and the same, Gohan. I am Nagato. and I am one of two Gods of this world. I took something very precious from them. But that story can wait. You just came back from the dead and I'm sure you're starving. Follow me to my place and I'll get some food together for you."

Gohan knew he should be more worried about finding out where he was, worried about getting home, finding out how the war had gone. But something told him his world was fine, the world was one, and his curiosity was demanding he go with this stranger.

...

The "home" he had found himself in was anything but. It was a large coliseum, long sense covered in moss and sprouting trees, it's structure deterirated greatly. He guessed it had been a century since if had seen use.

"110 years. To be precise." Nagato told him, as he slid him as he held out a hand, releasing a burst of ki. A second later there was a large meal before him. It seemed similar to how Piccolo formed clothes, but he imagined that was much, much simpler than creating food.

"Create? I didn't create anything. I just pulled it out of storage. It's pretty simple, actually."

Gohan looked at him for a moment before his stomach grumbled and he shrugged, putting off his questioning for a few minutes while he devoured the feast layed before him. The war, dying, coming back to life, it had all taken a rather significant toll on him. Eating was something he was grateful for.

"I thought I had seen eyes like yours." Nagato said, as he calmly at a much more human portion of food. "Eyes that have seen loss. Eyes that know the horror and pain of war. You're so young, yet your eyes are so old."

"And yours are much older still." Gohan said between bites of food.

Nagato laughed. "True. Very true. So you're from somewhere out there." He waved his hand to the sky. "And you died in some great battle before you were somehow revived here. Is that accurate?"

Gohan nodded.

"Well. That's quite interesting. I had suspected there might be other worlds out there with their own life, but I had never expected to meet an individual from one of them. And then suddenly one day I'm outside and a body comes crashing down from somewhere I can't see. I had been in the process of burying you in a proper grave before you sat up."

Gohan had finished off his food and was currently chugging a jug of water. "Thanks for that, I guess."

"So, I assume by the fact that you died in a war, and that you seem to have knowledge and some control of "Ki" that you're a warrior?"

Gohan nodded again. "Yeah. Since I was 4, and Uncle, who was an alien, invaded my planet."

Nagato looked into his eyes and looked away once more. "Very interesting. The universe is large, then, and full of life. So what kind of abilities do you specialize in? No. Let me guess. You displayed the ability to levitate, so...telekinesis?"

Gohan shook his head. "No. I've known a few people that have those kinds of abilities, but my flight is just taking the Ki in my body and pushing it outwards with enough pressure to cause my body to rise. Granted, in long distance flight you have to shield yourself with it in order to minimize air resistance to increase speed..."

Nagato's curiosity was back. "I haven't ever heard of a technique like that. Though I guess an application of the technique I used earlier, a move controlled form, could be used similarly. I suppose since I fly using magnetic I'd never given much thought to the possibility. Is your offense similar to what I used?"

Gohan shrugged. "I can do that, but it's not what I usually use. I'm a martial artist, first and foremost. After that, it's just concentrated energy attacks. Beams, balls, explosions."

Some slight surprise showed on Nagato's face. "Those are possible, but they would be incredible drains of energy." Gohan recognized the look, now. True curiosity, a desire to know, to explore. "Can you show me?"

Gohan nodded and held up his hand, releasing a small ball of ki which blasted through one of the holes in the coliseum.

"Well. Fight me, then." Was Nagato's response, as he stood and walked some distance away from Gohan. Gohan reached out to sense him, to get a bearing on his strength, but the readings came back inconsistent and chaotic. However he used his ki, it was channeled far differently through his body than anyone he knew.

Nagato seemed to flex his body and metal shot out from it, coating him in a liquid surface before hardening into a sealed form. Gohan was going to question how that allowed flexibility, but he imagined the metal effortlessly shifted between various degrees of solid allowing perfect and responsive flexibility.

Gohan looked on and considered. He couldn't go all out, obviously, but judging initial strength was difficult. After some consideration, he lowered his power to Vegeta's when he initially came to Earth. Vegeta had been considered an elite, his strength in the universe matched and exceeded only by a handful. It was probably a good point of comparison for the proclaimed god of a planet.

He rushed forwards at a speed that was pitifully low for him and threw a punch, which Nagato raised an armored fist to block before stepping forwards and crashing a metal fist into Gohan's chest causing a slight spurt of blod from his mouth and sending him crashing and skidding acros the ground.

"Well. You're extremely strong and fast by comparison of most of the people on this planet..." Nagato stated, before Gohan grinned and rushed forwards again, this time taking his Ki up to the level of captain Ginyu. He kicked at Nagato's chest, who brought a metal arm down to deflect it, and once more stepped forwards to deliver a solid punch to Gohan's own. Gohan caught it, feeling his hand suffer some serious strain from the force of the metal, before he threw that fist aside and stepped in, striking Nagato in the head with an elbow.

Gohan let out a slight grunt of pain from the collision, having seriously underestimated the hardness of the metal, but being rewarded with a slight crack in the protective covered. The covering almost instantaneously repaired itself, however, and Nagato grabbed hold of Gohan's shoulders and slammed his forehead against Gohan's own causing him to stumble back slightly disoriented with a headache coming on. Gathering his energy above his head, he through his hands forwards. "MASENKO! HA!" Unleashing a torrent of golden energy which crashed into Nagato, forcing him back and off his feat, carrying him with force out the back wall of the coliseum before detonating in the forest.

Gohan reached his senses out for Nagato's ki, worried that he had over done it, but found it was unessisary as after a few moments Nagato was walking back into the arena. His armor was cracked and in places burnt off, parts of it completely obliterated. Burns and cuts showed through in many parts of his body, but as Gohan watched metal flowed through those areas and stitched him up. Gohan suspected based on the time it took with his observations that he had certainly almost completely obliterated Nagato's armor and done serious damage to the body underneath.

It was odd. It terms of speed, Gohan had a slight advantage at this power level, and although Nagato seemed to have very limited resistance to his energy attacks, the teens sheer force and resistance to physical attacks was exceptionally above this power level.

Nagato's helmet shimmered as it molded slightly, shimmering into a translucent faceplate. "Well. If this is the extent of your strength, I'd be willing to say you're stronger than myself and one other on this planet. Very, very good. But I have the feeling you're still holding back. Is that accurate?"

Gohan nodded.

Nagato laughed. "Very good. But I've figured out those attacks of yours. I've only heard of such attacks on my planet less than a handful of times, so there was little point in dealing with direct energy, instead our own defenses being channeled to raw physical resistances. I can't adapt my body on the fly quite that easily, but."

He held out his arm and metal shot forth from his armor, forming a shield near the size of his body.

"Try it again!" He yelled.

Gohan smirked, quickly gathering his energy above his head. "MASENKO! HA!" Once more unleasing the torrent of energy, which impacted against Nagato's shield, driving him back a dozen meters. With some effort, though, the teen twisted his shield to the side and redirected the beam to fly harmlessly into space. Despite some slight scuffs, which quickly polished themselves out, Nagato's shield was fine.

"I had to re-polerize the way that my "Ki" flowed through the shield. It had to become more...fluid, should I say? I can tell that our bodies are hard wired very differently. Probably a racial thing. Ki in your body is designed to flow you in a very high concentration, but very loosely, allowing you to toss around highly destructive beams and giving you great speed. In my own body, my peoples body, it's more "solid", enhancing our raw physical strength, endurance and physical defense. I wouldn't be able to change the flow in my body, but the metal is highly adaptable. I just have to understand a concept and it's usually able to adapt to it. But...it's interesting. You fight like Her."

Gohan looked on. "That's...huh. You're physical strength and durability are far above mine for sure...at this level. If I go any higher, though, you won't be able to keep up."

Nagato chuckled. "Oh? Stage two release, approved, then." He said with a smile.

Gohan watched, but there was no noticeable change. His other senses tingled, though, as he sensed a much more potent amount of Ki in his opponent. Thinking back to what the teen had said, he began trying to sense and quantify the Ki differently. Rather than trying to sense the quantity of flow in his opponent, he instead attempted to sense the density of it. The end result was giving him a much better idea of his opponents level.

"You sense it, then? It's not a physical transformation, really. I've simply increased the pressure of the Ki running through my body. This puts strain on my body, which my metal can repair as happens, but the end result of this is me cannibalizing my own Ki. That said, I've taken myself to the maximum that I can sustain for long periods of time. Oh. By the way. Be careful. I'm going to start getting serious now. This is the first time in a long, long time I've gotten to go this far. I want to have some fun."

Gohan nodded, sensing his opponents new level of strength, converting it into his own level of measurement and then raising his power level accordingly. They were now fighting on the level of Frieza's second form. Still nothing to Gohan's true strength, but unbelievably impressive for someone he randomly ran into.

Gohan dashed forwards once more, showing a sudden burst of speed as he flashed behind his opponent and kicked him in the back, causing some pain to Gohan's foot and causing his opponent to stagger forwards a step. Not letting up, Gohan released a few quick ki blasts into Nagato's back, causing a fair amount of damage with each explosion, before flipping into the air and attempting to axe kick the top of his head.

As his foot came down, several small spikes came into existance on Nagato's head as the metal molded. Gohan was able to avoid impaling, barely, but still flipped away with a few trickles of blood and a torn pants leg as Nagato turned to face him. As he charged back in, the battle became much more tricky.

Every move became extremely calculated. Despite his lower speed, Nagato's durability offset Gohan's increased landing of blows, and his greater strength made the ones he landed hurt that much more. Worse still was that the shifting metal did a great deal to negate his own speed advantage, as every near dodge was rewarded with shallow cuts as blades came into existence. Every hit on his part had to not only bypass defenses, but defenses that came into life as he was striking. Even backing off and lashing out with energy attacks had to be done tactically as Nagato had polarized his shield to be able to deflect them.

Gohan could easily win with such tactics by just taking advantage of the fact that he simply couldn't be worn down or run out of ki at this level of fighting, but he was trying to simulate things accurate. As it was, he found himself raising his own ki level higher and higher in order to get enough of a speed advantage to get around the offenses and defenses that could come to life anywhere on Nagato's body, while increasing the concentration of ki aura in his striking limbs to provide protection against the spikes when he did find one.

He had, without noticing it until a few minutes in, brought himself up to near Frieza's third form before he was able to completely negate Nagato's advantage. He dived forwards with all his current speed and strength and backhanded the shield as Nagato pulled it into place causing it to fly out of position and shatter into pieces as Nagato had reworked it's ki flow to specifically resist energy attacks at the expense of physical resistance. Path cleared he channeled a large amount of Ki into his fight fist and upper cut Nagato in the chin, with enough speed the metal didn't have time to form spikes, with a small explosion and enough force to lift him off the ground and send him in the air. The physical strain of doing so, however, causing Gohan's arm significant trauma.

He flipped back and watched as Nagato crashed against the stone ground causing cracks in it, his faceplate obliterated by the impact and fresh burns and pealed skin clear on his face. The teens response was to slowly stand and crack his neck as the metal poured from his skin and knitted the wounds together before reforming the mask.

"Alright. That's enough of a warm up, I think." Nagato's voice sounded amused. Gohan was quite shocked. How was someone this powerful not known of?

Gohan looked on with the trademark facial response of one Saiya-jin prince at the prospect.

"Very good. Your power has greatly exceeded mine once more. So. Adaptive Release approved. My Ki levels will now raise to match external threats up to my limits." In his left hand the shield reformed, and in his right a sword grew into existence.

"An observation, though. It seems that due to your extraordinarily fluid Ki and the ease in which you can launch it into direct energy attacks, your race, or at least you, have limited yourself to the most direct applications of energy, where we have to make due with manipulating slower fields. I'd be very hard pressed to even try to throw a "Ki" blast, or fly with direct energy. However, you'll find are skills are quite a bit more versatile as a result."

The armor wearing warrior seemed to concentrate for a moment. Gohan felt the hair on the back of his neck raise and a few moments later Nagato raised into the air. "Electromagnetics." The energy sparked around him, and suddenly he shot into the air at massive speeds, as though out of a cannon, through a hole in the ceiling, and Gohan was sure shortly after into space beyond.

Gohan wasn't one to let a challenge escape, and flew quickly after the teen, following on his heals and, as he thought, into space. He breathed deep and used ki to compress his oxygen before he broke through the outer atmosphere and followed Nagato a fair distance away from the planet.

'Much better.' Said a voice inside his head. 'A straight hit would have done significant damage to the planet.' Nagato then raised his sword towards Gohan, ki dancing through it.

Gohan knew what was coming. He kept his senses tuned on his opponent, desperately running calculations in his head as fast as he could. They were fighting at an incredibly high level. If Nagato could use the same energy in his blows to accelerate a magnetically-charged projectile...

He didn't even see it coming. Well, he saw it...but after it had already impacted, a fiery glowing stream where the air between them had been literally shredded at the nuclear level, oxygen atoms trapped in the path of the projectile from Nagato's aura fusing together from the incredible force. That was a split second after he felt the searing impact of the slug, launched with sufficient energy to destroy a small moon. The half a kilogram projectile drilled through his aura like it was nothing, punching through his chest and scattering relativistic particles in every direction. It was only thanks to his careful ki control that his body even remained intact. The relativistic round had left only a small scorch mark on his chest, but his entire torso now ached horribly and it had caused tremendous drain on his ki reserves.

Nagato might not be capable of blowing a planet up with an ordinary ki attack - maybe not even a moon - but he was fully capable of firing projectiles at velocities almost equal to the speed of light. There was no way to dodge something like this. Gohan would have to dodge before the shots were fired.

He dashed forwards and barrel rolled as he felt a spike of Ki from Nagato, and knew that he had just barely dodged an incoming attack. He bobbed, weaved, and employed earth's after image technique to avoid more and more of the relativistic rounds. Nagato had a few moments lag between each shot, but even so he wasn't completely successful. A few managed to graze him, one punched through his shoulder, but nothing inflicting the damage like the one that had blasted through his chest. He found himself constantly increasing his power level to stay a step ahead of Nagato's aiming.

He reached Nagato and landed feat first on the sword as Nagato attempted to let another blast fly, sending it off target. He flipped above Nagato and, having learned against physical attacks, unloaded with a huge beam of Ki which washed over the teen and shot him some reasonable distance away. By this time, he was fighting at the level that his Father had used against Frieza.

He raised his hands above his head and began charging again. "MASENKO!" But before he could release it one of Nagato's rounds blasted into the energy above his head causing it to detonate and wash over him, sending him blasting away.

Not to be out done, he charged a bunch of energy and released them into a scatter shot of energy blasts that spread out in a wave and then homed in on Nagato from different directions. The teen was able to blast a few out of the sky and dodge a few more, but was unable to escape all of them and was consumed by the combination of explosions that crashed against him.

When the flash from the explosions cleared, the massive blue beam of Gohan's Kamehameha was barreling down on him. With some effort Nagato managed to maneuver his shield in front of him and block the blast, the shields properties allowing it to hold up to Gohan's beam. For a time. So Gohan continued to pour power into it, noticing that behind Nagato the shot he had managed to knock off target blow a huge scar across the surface of the moon...and sending it spiraling out of orbit of the planet and off into space.

Nagato raised his sword behind him, and Gohan's mind flipped through what he knew. Nagato hadn't seemed to suffer any recoil from his attacks, despite conservation of momentum. While normal Ki attacks weren't subject to those laws in a way that affected the users, Nagato was using attacks that were directly and fundamentally tied to the laws of physics. It was might probable that he was tying his own magnetic field into the earths as an Anchor, meaning that he was about too...

Nagato fired too shots in quick succession, something Gohan hadn't seem him do thus far, which gave the teen an incredible amount of forwards momentum which carved through his beam in the blink of the eye, and earned Gohan an incredibly painful shield bash to the head which sent him flying back a few hundred meters, blood flowing from his face.

He was damaged. He was holding back a great deal, but Nagato was challenging him is ways he never thought he could possibly be challenged.

Nagato, ever the surface thought reader, seemed to pick up that he wanted to test his limited. Infront of him, he gathered a massive ball of metal. More and more flowed out of his body and condensed into the sphere in front of him. Gohan's eyes raised in shock. Based on what he calculated the density of the metal to be, by the time Nagato finished gathering, the sphere was 1/2 a ton of mass concentrated into a sphere with a 1 inch diameter. Gohan didn't half to run the numbers. He instantly exploded into Ascended Super Saiya-jin.

Like the other shots, he didn't see it. He just felt the blinding pain a moment later, and the ball was gone from Nagato's hand. It wasn't like last time. No scorch on his chest. The front of his chest was actually blasted open, and from what he could feel, so was the skin and muscles of his back. Several of his ribs were dusted, but he had managed to protect his organs and spine with an overwhelming fortification of ki. Still, the pain was debilitating, and blood oozed out of his chest and back.

His movements exceeded Nagato's at this point to such a level that from the teens perspective, Gohan had vanished. He didn't even see Gohan as he intercepted Nagato's backwards momentum, which was a result of his anchor to the Earth simply not being strong enough to negate all the physics demanded backlash from the shot.

All Nagato felt was the overwhelming pain as Gohan's energy enhanced kick slammed into his side as sent him rocketing into the atmostphear, and then down and down as he picked up speed, heating up and oxygen ignighting around him before he impacted a (luckily) uninhabited part of the planet, creating a impact crater with an eight mile diameter and sending earthquakes shacking across the planet for the next hour.

Not far behind him Gohan landed, looking on at the teen, his golden spikes and lightning aura standing out against the backdrop of the crater.

"Heh...that was...awesome." Nagato said as he coughed up blood. He was a wreck. His armor had shattered and melted, and was scattered across the crater. His body was bruised, broken and beaten, and Gohan was certain there was massive organ damage, shattered and pulped bone, and Nagato's body was covered in bruises and burns in addition to the massive bleeding.

Did he just kill someone?

"No. No. It's fine." Nagato tried to laugh, but was unsuccessful. "The metal can patch it all up. It's just going to take a little bit. You are overwhelmingly strong."

Gohan nodded. "I far exceed you in strength, but your techniques are unlike anything I've ever seen. That hurt. A lot. I'd say you could probably kill me, to be honest."

Nagato shoot his head slightly. "Maybe. But that was near the extent of my abilities. I committed almost all of my Ki and a fourth of my body mass to the attack. Even then, there are certain insurmountable laws preventing me from bringing the attacks beyond a certain level. A physical object can only handle a certain amount of energy, after all."

Gohan nodded, feeling an odd sensation. Looking around him, he saw dust as the metal had broken itself down into molecules and was settling around his chest.

"Don't worry about it. Just getting you patched up. The metal will bond and serve as a replacement for the damaged skin, muscle and bone, and as your body naturally repairs itself over time the metal will break away and exit your system."

Gohan nodded, not bothering to mention, or think, that human bones wouldn't regrow like that.

"I did have one question for you, Nagato."

Another weak laugh. "Figured this was coming."

"What did you take from the people?"

He hesitated slightly. "Their destiny."


	20. Time of Your Life

The day was young, as the light was just spilling in through the cracks in the arena walls. Gohan's eyes opened to survey the area and he stood, cracking his neck and flexing his muscles. His eyes glanced down at where the wound he had earned last night was carved through his chest, noticing the size of the metal sheen that gleamed back at him had reduced in size over the night. Apparently it was accelerating the healing process.

"Good morning." Nagato voice called to him, and he glanced up to see the teen sitting in a window overlooking the outside world. "I've been doing some thinking. You're pretty much stuck on this planet at the moment, and I'm sure there's people out there that you'd like to get back to. I don't have the power to help you, but I know someone that does."

Gohan tilted his head slightly, answering with curiosity. "I'm not sure how you could help. I doubt this planet has anything in the way of faster than light travel or intergalactic communication."

Nagato nodded. "And you'd be right. Even so, She'll be able to help, if I can convince her to do so at any rate. Though that might be a touch tricky."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Well..." He trailed off with not a small amount of hesitation. "The last time we saw each other, we fought, and she won. That's part of the reason that I'm living in my exile here."

"Oh. Well. Yeah. I suppose that might cause some problems getting her cooperation. How long ago was that?"

Nagato chuckled. "Oh. Three centuries or so, give or take a few years."

Gohan gaped. "You're three hundred years old?!"

He shook his head. "Don't be foolish. I'm four hundred and twenty. I didn't do what I did without a good century of experience working everything out first."

"You know. You're going to have to explain what exactly happened..."

He shook his head. "You'll learn once we meet Her. You have to promise me that if something happens, you won't get involved. It's between the two of us... and to be honest, I'm not sure if even you can beat her."

Some part of Gohan grew extremely excited with that statement, but he nodded his agreement. Nagato had seen his Ascended state, and he was still thought this woman might be stronger than him? He felt a shiver run through his body with anticipation.

"Alright. Come, Gohan."

...

It had taken them several days of traveling on foot to reach where Nagato was bringing them. They hadn't limited themselves to normal speed, but Gohan estimated that they had crossed a distance of near one hundred thousand kilometers. This planet was much larger than Earth. Much, much larger.

He thought about it for a minute. That meant that the gravity here would be much higher, but he hadn't given it any thought. He supposed that since he had been unconscious when he had arrived, his body had naturally adapted it's Ki flow to support him in these conditions. And he hadn't noticed the size in space because he had been so intent on the battle.

When all was said and done, the rough math in his head suggested that, assuming Earth like composition, this planet's gravity was 5x Earth's.

He had seen it from a distance, and had marveled at it's beauty. Standing at the edge of a mountain which overlooked a massive desert, had had looked down upon that desert and seen a gem resting in the middle. It was a massive city, large enough to hold Earth's population with ease, he imagined. He could approximate the cities size based on their distance and the horizon, which placed it as having exactly a five hundred mile diameter. The city was designed as a massive, perfect circle, with a huge spire extending into the clouds from the center.

And now he was standing before the gates of the large city. The walls seemed to be made of white marble, the gates themselves seemed to be made of gold, or at least gold plated. And far beyond them, situated in the middle of the city, was a massive tower that reached so high he couldn't see the top.

"Esmeria." Nagato said, seeing Gohan stair up. "The Eye of the World."

Gohan managed to close his gaping mouth. "I assume that's where she lives? It's got to be at least..."

Nagato nodded as he lead Gohan up to the gate. "250 miles tall, exactly the radius of the city, and exactly flush against the edge of the exosphere. She couldn't possible stand not being on top of the world."

"250 miles? But the Exosphere extends..." He trailed off. "Oh. Right. Gravity is about five times that of my home. Meaning that, based on elevation from the sea...250 miles is about right."

The Gates opened for them, but as Gohan looked around the pristinely clean city, he noticed that there were no guards on the walls, and the path leading in the city, and straight towards the tower, was lined on either side with a row of people all smiling. The message was clear; you're free to enter, but only straight to the tower.

Oddly, he felt his mood slightly elevated as he entered, and he couldn't help but notice a slight smile on Nagato's face. He shook his head.

"You noticed it?" Nagato asked as they walked.

"Yeah. I just feel...happy, for some reason." Gohan struggled with the worlds.

"It's her. The inherent power that she possesses allows her to affect peoples emotions. Through this manipulation this is a city of harmony, of peace. There is no violence, there is no hate crimes. It's effectiveness is probably limited on you due to your alien physiology."

Gohan nodded, but was a little irritated, a feeling that wasn't affected. "That's wrong, though. She's controlling people, taking away their free will..."

Nagato shrugged. "It's a Walruschicken and egg question Gohan. Actions vs. emotions, emotions to actions. No one's free will is altered, they just have no violent emotions, and they always feel in a slightly better mood. Would you choose to feel angry, choose to feel violent, if such emotions and actions were gone outside of yourself?"

Gohan thought about that for a minute before shaking his head. "No...I suppose your right. For me, violence exists in order to protect other people from violence. If there was no other violence, I wouldn't want to have it either. What of other emotions?"

"All other emotions still exist, except negative ones at the extreme ends. Irritation exists, anger exists, Rage is suppressed. Sadness exists, depression does not. Joy exists. Happiness exists. Jelousy exists, but within confines of not to an extreme to warrant violence..."

Gohan nodded. "So everyone has a full range of emotions, they just fall short of the ones that cause suffering, either to self or others."

Nagato smiled. "Yeah. That's how it works. Things are...peaceful, perfect here. It's not that no one never has a bad die, or no ones ever upset or mad, but it never spills over to harm. No one goes hungry, everyone works together and gets along. All through Her power."

"But what about people that attack you?"

Nagato shrugged. "No one is forced to live here. Once people come here, they always stay. But there's a few people out there that hold out, and they blame me for this city existing. They think that I stole their free will and gave it to her. That's not true. I just..."

"Took away their power and gave it to me." A whimsical, female voice washed over them. Gohan looked around and was startled by the fact that they were no longer in the city. Rather they were standing on the top of the tower, the entire Earth stretched below them. The tower itself, now that he was here, was ten miles in diameter, and itself a perfect circle. Looking down on the world, he found it odd. It was much like Kami's Lookout in that you could actually see everything, not just what you should be able to.

He felt a force in his mind. Unlike Nagato, it didn't just flicker on the surface. Unlike Nagato when he actually got a piece of information, it didn't gently reach in and take it. No, this was like warmth and comfort, seeping into his head and like a wave washing through it, and then it slowly receded, remaining just on the edge of his awareness.

He looked forwards in the physical world and came to see a woman standing before them, surrounded on all sides by the tower and Space, the stars themselves severing as her ceiling. This was her, the woman they had come to see. She was tall, taller than him or Nagato, probably an even six feet in height. Her build was small but perfectly tone. Every muscle, he could tell, was developed to the height that it could be without growing larger. It seemed the only body fat she has was her moderate bust and hips and why was he thinking about that?

Oh. Right. Emotion control. She fancied herself as a Goddess. Even if the general feed that she sent down just tempered people, there was no harm in including a little attraction in the vibe.

"An alien? Interesting." She paused, and suddenly he felt more violated than he had in his entire life. And the weird thing was, he couldn't explain it. It wasn't his mind, or his body. It wasn't even his soul. But she had just torn apart some part of him and put it back together.

"Interesting." She said, much like Nagato when he had met him, her attention seemed as though it was being brought from somewhere far away.

"You can't have him..."

Her gaze settled on him in response, cold and superior, before it shifted to Gohan. "No. Of course not. He's far more important that that."

She waved her hand and space seemed to flicker before it was replaced by Earth. All of his battles played out in the heavens around them through some kind of telepathic projection. He was watching the cliff notes of his life.

"This...half Saiya-jin..." She began. "Is far more powerful, and far more important, than anyone we've ever seen. And his destiny runs strong, tied into the threads of everything." Her eyes were glowing a deep purple. "The fate of the Universe itself is wound with him and those connected to him. It's quite incredible. He's not ready, of course. That's why he's here."

"What do you mean?" Gohan was pretty confused.

"Please. Why do you think you're here? I grabbed on to your destiny thread and pulled it."

He blinked. "You..wha...you can do that?!"

She laughed. "Of course I can."

Nagato shook head. "Not exactly. She's powerful, she isn't that powerful. Sure, she could pull on that, but it would have to be possible. Some slight tweak to something that's already happening..."

Gohan nodded. "I understand what happened."

She nodded. "Not a slow as you look. Yes, you were being revived at the time. A tug made where you revived change, as your Dragon can move something anywhere in space."

He growled. "But still. You can't just do that. It's kidnapping. There are people that are waiting for me, and..."

"They'll all die if you're not ready. We all will." She cut him off with a dismissive wave of the hand.

He sat and thought about that for a moment, before nodding. If she had the power to manipulate his fate like that, he wasn't going to doubt she could see it.

"First things first though." She gestured a hand towards him, and the world shifted. The tower vanished, Nagato vanished, and the planet vanished. All that remained was him and this Woman floating in the void of space, a few planets and moons floating impossibly close together for gravity to function.

"My name isn't woman." She smirked, before launching herself at him. "It's Amaterasu!"

He reached out to sense her power and found that he could much more easily do so than with Nagato, as her Ki flowed similar to what he was familiar with. He settled into a defensive as she closed the distance, raising his power to his maximum without tapping into his SSj strength.

She twisted as she neared aiming her right heal at him with a spin kick, and he responded by raising his left arm to block at her calf negating the force from impacting his head. Instantly he attempted to grab that leg, but a burst of ki shifted her momentum up and in a quick flip allowing her to bring her other leg down for an axe kick from above.

He shifted to the right and slammed his fist into the leg as it came down, causing her to let out a small grunt of pain. This punch rapidly shifted her momentum to cause her to spin away from him, and as she did so she raised her left arm causing a purple ball of ki to channel into it. Gohan shot back and to the right to dodge out of the way of the beam, but rather than shooting out it exploded sending a cone of ki shrapnel forwards.

A few of them managed to tag him in his left side and arm, indenting about a quarter of an inch into his body and drawing blood. it was his turn to let out an indication of pain, but didn't have much more time than that as she shot forwards.

Held behind her back he noticed her other hand clench and felt blinding pain as those shards exploded into smaller shrapnel causing the wounds to rip open and spill more blood. He flicked his head to clear the shock but found her fist implanted in his gut causing him to double over, and an elbow to the back of the neck sent him racing downwards with significant speed. A few seconds later he crashed into the surface of one of the moons, causing a crater and cracking to shoot out and away from it.

She was hot on his tail though, and his senses picked up an increase and rapid increase in Ki density above him, and he recognized it shifting to Nagato's. He didn't have time to dodge, and instead through a punch up to intercept her own. The punched collided, and with her own ki surpassing his, and concentrated for physical offense and defense, Gohan's right arm actually shattered from the exchange and he was blown back and into the crater. The surface of the moon gave and an explosion of rubble and dust shot up and the crater depend much further.

He let out a yell of pain and rage as he came back down to impact his chest with a follow up punch, mixing his SSj strength with his base causing his power to shoot to a drastically increased level. Even so, he didn't know if he'd survive the punch. Her Ki was currently optimized for a physical strike, and even with his own surpassing hers by a good margin, he didn't think it would be enough to negate the strike without being able to block it.

He was saved, however, as the metal seemed to react to his thoughts, and the ki was absorbed into his body and to his chest where the metal was holding him together, drastically increasing the Ki concentration in that area and condensing it into "Heavy" ki. Her punch collided into his chest with such force that the moon below him actually buckled and then gave as it exploded into celestial sized rubble from the impact that was the equivalent of an entire minute of all of the Sun's energy output, concentrated in the single collision of a chest vs. a fist.

He didn't let the opportunity slip. He gathered his energy as he was flying backwards and thrust his hands forwards, letting fly a massive beam of Ki. She didn't have time to reformat the flow of her ki and took the assault head on, being consumed by the resulting explosion.

Gohan breathed heavy as he felt the metal shifting through his bone, serving as artificial structure and "repairing" the cracks and minor breaks that had occurred. This metal of Nagato's was quite amazing. It seemed to be feeding on his SSj energy, drastically increasing the numbers of molecules inside of him.

The carnage around him cleared out as gravity carried pieces away in orbit, and before him the explosion had died down, leaving him and Amaterasu staring down at each other once more. She had some burns and marks, and much of her clothing had been vaporized, much to Gohan's embarrassment, but she was mostly unharmed. He noticed that her Ki had drastically increased once more, coming to rest above his own, and her body was covered in glowing, purple runes that pulsed with her ki flow. Some kind of transformation, then.

She didn't say anything then, instead holding her hands before her. A slight purple glow lit up in her eyes, and an intense concentration of Ki came to life in her hands. But it wasn't an energy blast. It started yellow, then shifted to blue, then to white, then became almost invisible to his eyes as energy and temperature increased. He felt a spike and then.

"Oh hell." He ascended to his highest form, and lightning crackled around him as the fire exploded out; a concentrated solar flare as though from a white dwarf almost instantly, to his eyes, washed over him and bathed him in it's heat.

He shot up and out of the burst of fire, singed, smoking and more than a little burned, just in time to see her make a motion with her hand. He twisted his head to dodge where she was pointing and felt, and then saw, the laser slice by him, cleanly cutting and cauterizing a gash in the side of his face.

He dashed towards her, dodging and weaving as she waved her finger around, almost lazily, cutting cleanly with a laser. He was dodging her finger, not the beams, as lasers traveled at the speed of light. Behind him, the rubble from the moon was getting sliced to pieces effortlessly.

He channeled a huge surge of energy into his hands, not wanting to form a blast and have her detonate it premature, and when he maneuvered close to her shot forwards with a burst of speed. Dodging under her hand and then up and inwards, closer to her than she could point, he placed both hands against her chest and unleashed a torrent of power which washed over her, sent her crashing into the planet several thousand kilometers away, and then detonated taking the planet with it in a massive explosion.

Then, he felt it. Overwhelming powerful, power beyond even that of the Android that had basically killed him. It flared to life where she was, a torrent of purple energy with such force and power that the shattered planet began orbiting around her, drawing in. It went up and up before it stopped, and the next thing he knew there were continent sized chunks of earth hurtling towards him.

He dived under the first in a near miss, face just skimming along under the mass hunk of rock as it flew by him at hypersonic speeds. As he twisted around to avoid the second, it detonated as an explosive Ki trapped within it burst, causing him to be bombarded by a shower of earth the size of states.

He flared his power as he recoiled from the first and after gathering energy began firing off blasts, detonating them before they could get close, all the while bobbing and weaving around the smaller ones he simply didn't have time to blast into oblivion.

He saw a flicker of purple and black rush past him from the debris and twisted to face it. By the time he did it was too late, as she was hovering above him upside down, and as he looked up placed a finger on his forehead. She didn't even bother to flick, and a moment target there was a spray of blood.

Nearly a minute past, him hurtling through debris, feeling it scrape against his skin, momentum out of control, before he impacted, hard, on another moon. The planet shattered on his impact, his sheer force causing an explosion the likes of which ripped the moon apart, sending him crashing past it before he impacted the next. He coughed up a small amount of blood as he floated in the debris...

But he was alive? How was that possible? And his power was...

Through the roof. Beyond that of the Android that had been responsible for his death. He closed his mind from the outside world for a minute and thought about it. After a few moments he realized.

'That's right.' She said within his mind. 'I unlocked your power.'

'Just like that?'

'It was quite easy. All the power was there, you just needed to mix it.'

He nodded, even though she couldn't see him, feeling his power almost having doubled. He gathered his energy to max to race outwards, but when he had only got a kilometer off when he noticed that she had closed the distance.

His dark black hair stood straight on edge, Amaterasu having helped calm his mind into tranquility, allowing him to harness both his full SSj2 power and his Zen, bringing him to the maximum strength that he could bring to bear. At this level he could have handled that Android by himself with some moderate difficulty. But...he felt out of his depth here.

His stance shifted into the defensive as he watched her hand almost lazily raise in front of her. The power coursing through her caused her now long silver hair to flow, and the purple glow of her eyes and the runes traced along her sleek and shining midnight black body pulsed with energy, laughter and amusement echoing in his head. She folded her fingers down, just pointing her index and middle finger towards him.

Gohan didn't think about it. Instinct kicked in as her eyes and runes flashed with intense light. He shifted, and twisted around as a searing purple laser shot past him, it's angle slicing clear through the large moon that had been behind him. He gathered his ki and exploded in that direction to hide on the other side of the destroyed celestial body.

Once he was on the other side he had a moment to rest, and a moment to allow the pain to actually hit him. He glanced down to his left arm and saw the metal twisting around to repair the damage, but his real arm was still floating on the other side of the moon, abandoned in space for his hasty retreat.

He didn't have much time to regret, though. The metal managed to shape itself into a new arm for him, but his senses, both Ki sense and visual, picked up a another massive surge of energy and he watched in stunned amazement as the frightening girl flipped up and over, launching bringing half the moon around at a speed of three thousand kilometers per hour. The surface area was too large, and he couldn't dodge. If he let it happen, he's be crushed between the impact of the two bisected halves of a moon.

He gathered his ki to the limits and rushed forwards, thrusting out his hands in either direction and blowing both moon halves to oblivion with a well timed beam detonation at their centers. Not stopping he closed the distance to Amaterasu before she could shift to a different form of attack, upper cutting her in the gut and causing her to double over. He was utilizing his metal arm, enhanced my condensing to heavy ki, and crashed his fist into her gut a three more times.

When he swung again his arm was intercepted by her own, and she clamped down on his hand, her own Ki having shifted to dense form. He mentally chuckled, having been waiting for that, and used his other arm to blast her with Ki, sending her flying one hundred kilometers back before it detonated.

When it cleared she was obviously injured, burns, bruises and bleeding evident in her body. She laughed in his head.

'Good. Very good. I see that Nagato has loaned you some of his metal, allowing you to utilize both heavy and loose ki simultaneously. Well. So can I, to a much greater extent. Time to end this, I think.'

The constitution of her ki drastically shifted. The ki in her right arm condensed to the point that it was almost solid, while the ki in the rest of her body shifted to the point that she herself became almost ethereal. She raced forwards much faster than he had ever experienced, her body seeming to blur between real space and some other dimension causing normal speed limits to no longer restricted to her physical limits.

In the instant he had, he thrust all of his power forwards in a massive Masenko, the golden energy poring out of him rapidly, washing her her. But it wasn't enough. A huge deal of her ki shot around her enhanced fist, combining the extremely condensed ki in the arm with the full strength of the rest of her Ki transferred into telekinetic power. The punch impacted his chest, his strongest point of resistance.

Gohan had never traveled at realistic speeds before, let alone light speed. Space itself bent around him under the force of her impact and manipulation of ki, and he felt himself partially slip out of space as he hurtled back at the speed of light, in some sort of "slip stream". He felt himself crash through one planet, and then a moon, and then another planet, absorbing each and every beating. But in front of him was a massive laser, 3m across, to was less than a foot behind him and traveling at the same speed.

When he slipped out of that slip stream and his velocity once more became subject to the laws of the physical universe, that beam almost instantly overtook and consumed him, erasing him from existence. He blinked.

...

And found himself back where he had started, staring into Amaterasu's eyes. She smirked at him, before nodding with some slight approving. "You are strong. Very, very strong. But as you can see, you have a lot to learn yet."

He instinctively, probably due to her telepathy, knew what had happened. She had dragged him into a mindscape so that they could fight at full power without worrying about collateral damage.

"But how are you so strong?"

Nagato spoke up. "That's a long story. But basically, a long time ago, our race was heading towards destruction. Individuals didn't have the power to destroy the planet, or even a moon, but they wielded enough strength to cause lasting harm to the planet. And we fought wars. The devastation was enormous. I built this tower and utilized an ability to redirect the power of the living things of the planet, stripping them of all but a little more than the strength they needed to live."

Amaterasu chuckled. "And sensing this in the Fate of the planet, I manipulated the strings so that rather than harmlessly storing and then dissipating through the tower, it would channel into the person that stood above it."

"I stole their power to save them." Nagato continued. "And she stole the power away from me, in order to reshape the world into what she considered ideal."

She nodded. "By utilizing the massive influx of Ki, I was able to heighten my powers to affect the entire population of this city. Of the world, if I wanted. I took away suffering and violence. Now there is simply peace and cooperation. It's perfect. It didn't come over night, and I had to develop higher forms to allow my body to hold all of the power."

Gohan nodded in understanding. Nagato had played a game of chess against the world, and won, but Amaterasu had been the Chessmaster that had taken the ultimate victory. Still...he didn't think he could find a moral fault with what had happened. At least, not enough of one to try and force a change.

"Now. I assume you have no problems staying here with me and learning all that you can?"

Gohan showed hesitancy. Thoughts of the people he'd left behind coming to his mind, primarily wondering about someone who had died.

"Oh. Her." Amaterasu laughed. "I know the connection." She waved her hand to the side and space seemed to bend. A second later, Zaula was standing there, looking mildly confused.

"What...how..." Gohan and Zaula seemed to say simultaneously.

"She wasn't dead, for the record. She was hurtling through space on an energy blast due to her inability to die. A little manipulation allowed the wish that would have moved her to send her here. I knew that you would be distracted if you didn't know she was safe."

Gohan nodded, not able to express his appreciation.

"Now then." She began. "It's time to begin your training.

...

Power levels:

Gohan:

Base: 400,000,000

SSj: 600,000,000

Zen: 1,200,000,000

SSj Zen: 1,800,000,000

SSj2: 1,900,000,000

SSj2 Zen: 3,700,000,000

Nagato:

Base: 100,000

St. 2: 1,500,000

Adaptive Max: 500,000,000

Amaterasu:

Base: 1,500,000,000

First: 2,500,000,000

Second: 4,500,000,000


End file.
